Will Barristan defect

[R'hllor-Is-The-Truth]

agreed - I don't think Ser Barristan is one who changes loyalties on a whim.

agreed - I don't think Ser Barristan is one who changes loyalties on a whim.

I second that. Barristan would stay Loyal to Dany. But i think once he learns Dany has no interest in Westeros he might beg her to go join Aegon.

[Tharvot]

In short, no. I think Barristan is with Dany till the end...or at least his or her end. He has too much honor to switch sides and I think he will be highly skeptical of some new dragon prince seemingly popping up out of nowhere.

Also, someone mentioned Mormont, whom I had partially forgotten about. I think he will re-prove his worth and allegiance to Dany and find his way back into her good graces. Together, Tyrion, Mormont, and Barristan would be a pretty good group of advisors for Dany IMO.

[R'hllor-Is-The-Truth]

Why do people keep assuming Aegon is not real. To me it seems to be so crazy it just might be true.

[Petyr Randomish]

I don't get why people would even think Aegon could be false ... Tyrion worked it out with logic. Therefore it is 100% guaranteed to be true.

[Direwolf Lager]

I don't get why people would even think Aegon could be false ... Tyrion worked it out with logic. Therefore it is 100% guaranteed to be true.

Quaithe's prophet to Dany warning her about a "mummers dragon" contributes to the theory why Aegon may be false.

[the Scorpion Knight]

Quaithe's prophet to Dany warning her about a "mummers dragon" contributes to the theory why Aegon may be false.

you know that phrophecies aren't reliable and mummer's dragon could also mean dragon in possesion of a mummer

[Winterfell is Burning]

I don't see Barristan doing it, since I doubt he would buy the Aegon story that easily.

Why do people keep assuming Aegon is not real. To me it seems to be so crazy it just might be true.

Well, because why Elia Martell would trust her son to Varys of all people? Either she didn't or Varys stole the baby and switched for another and she didn't notice?

When he was introduced, I thought this was a possibility, even remote, but when it was made clear that Doran doesn't know anything about him (and if it was the real deal: why wouldn't Varys share that fact?), I find it just impossible.

[Visual909]

I don't get why people would even think Aegon could be false ... Tyrion worked it out with logic. Therefore it is 100% guaranteed to be true.

It's also that in order for the explanation given to work Varys would have had to know about the Lannister betrayal well in advance and know that they were going to die. So instead of telling someone or moving the family to a safer place he switches a single child to live in exile for his entire life.

[Tony Soprano]

i don't think Barristan would ever abandon Danny. He'll stick with her to the end. Whether she remains in Slaver's Bay or goes to Westeros, he swore an oath to her and he doesn't strike as the kind of man who would break his oath and change loyalties.

And I think that '' Aegon '' is fake. He's a puppet of Illyrio / Varys . He might be a Blackfyre, but that still means Danny has better claim than he does. After all, she's the only remaining heir of the former king, not a long lost heir of some forgotten rebel dynasty,

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

I don't get why people would even think Aegon could be false ... Tyrion worked it out with logic. Therefore it is 100% guaranteed to be true.

I can't tell if you're kidding or not.

[History of Westeros]

It's also that in order for the explanation given to work Varys would have had to know about the Lannister betrayal well in advance and know that they were going to die. So instead of telling someone or moving the family to a safer place he switches a single child to live in exile for his entire life.

I'm in the Aegon is a Blackfyre camp, but the idea that Varys could predict Tywin's betrayal is easily believable.

First, Varys is incredibly good at the Game. He's an expert at understanding motivations and the like.

Second, he's well aware of several factors that point towards Tywin siding with Robert:

A) Tywin hates Aerys

B) Tywin isn't likely to join the clearly losing side, especially after he declined to join when they weren't yet the losing side, (in fact they were probably stronger).

C) As Tywin himself told Tyrion, when Tyrion questioned the savage slaying of the Targaryen children "I had to make it known to all the realm that House Lannister had forever forsaken the Dragons". Varys knows this, too. Meaning Varys knows that, if Tywin is going to join the rebels he's going in full steam, which means killing said children if possible.

D) Tywin wanted to rise higher, which he could not do under Aerys. He tried to marry into the royal family and was rejected. A new regime means a new chance at marrying into the royal family. This angle is obvious to Tywin and obvious to Varys.

There's probably more that that, even.

[History of Westeros]

agreed - I don't think Ser Barristan is one who changes loyalties on a whim.

I don't think anyone is saying it would be on a "whim".

[ghost the direwolf]

I do not think Barristan will leave Dany at all. I am with the camp that believe that he will ask her to bend the knee to Aegon so that he will be true to his oath.

[Red Lion]

I don't think Barristan will defect either. I think he will die in the Winds of Winter though.

[Ragnorak]

I don't get why people would even think Aegon could be false ... Tyrion worked it out with logic. Therefore it is 100% guaranteed to be true.

Tyrion worked out who he was supposed to be, that doesn't mean that's who he is.

Illyrio's attitudes and motivation along with the boy's clothes and the story of his now dead wife create the possibility that the boy is actually Illyrio's son.

The mummer's dragon line from Quaithe and Dany's vision in the House of the Undying suggest not only a fake dragon but one belonging to Varys.

Moqorro tells Tyrion he sees dragons in his fires and lists many kinds including fake ones.

There is no plot evidence to suggest Aegon is real. A dead child with a bashed head making it unrecoginzable and Varys being extremely capable are the only reasons reader's have to believe he's real. Even the people around him who believe he's real were never part of the plot to help him escape KL, they all came later.

He could very well be real. He also could be fake and there is ample evidence in the books to reasonably support a fake Aegon.

As to the OP, Barristan has no need to defect. The Kingsguard protects the royal family so staying with Dany creates no conflict. I do not see it as likely but it is the coolest suggestion for a betrayal for blood that I've seen.

[Seed]

I think Barristan will be dead sooner rather than later. Mormont with a literal back stabbing anyone?

I don't think Mormont is the type to backstab. He might be a disgraced knight, but he still has his honor.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I'm currently rereading ADWD and I'm on the "The Queens Hand"....theres absolutely no way Barristan the Bold would ever desert Daenerys Stormborn.

It would be completely out of character and destroy everything he stands for.

He's probably the single most interesting character that ADWD introduced in my opinion. I loved all of his chapters. You can see and feel his loyalty towards doing the right thing as well as the doubts he harbors about the past mistakes hes made.

If Dany ever makes it to Westeros it will be because of his good counsel....

[ThundergodCid]

I don't think Barristan will defect either. I think he will die in the Winds of Winter though.

Agreed, Barristan has too much of the Ned Stark honor to live long.

[King Doug]

There are a couple reasons I think Aegon is a fake. First, there is no reason that Varys couldn't have saved Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon once Aerys opened the gates for Tywin. Varys gave council not to do it, but he did it anyway. If he had any doubt that Tywin was in favor of Robert then he could have hid them all, even if it was just a precaution. Hide them in the secret passages and whatnot in the Red Keep. Then sneek them out whenever he could have.

Second, it is GENIUS business savvy to have Aegon a Blackfyre. The series doesn't dive into the Blackfyre rebellions too much. But the Dunk and Egg stories do. It might spark interest in some more people to get the D&E stories if it turns out he is a Blackfyre just to get a little more background on the whole situation.

[Khal Diablo]

I do not believe he would defect it doesn't seem to be in his nature to betray someone he is serving. That said I think that he will be killed before he ever gains any knowledge of Aegon (real or fake).