Although the series of Game of Thrones has had 8 seasons, not all plot points and characters from the novels made it in. For Daenerys, however, there was a secret Targaryen who would have been a problem.
It is no secret that the series of Game of Thrones, especially in the later seasons, took different paths than the novel series by George R. R. Martin. Thus, there are some characters from the books that never made it into the series.
Among them is also a secret son who would have made the family chaos of the Targaryens even more absurd.
Attention Spoiler: The following article deals with events from the latest book in A Song of Ice and Fire and also about the series Game of Thrones.
The alleged nephew of Daenerys
Which character is it about? In the 5th book of A Song of Ice and Fire (A Dance with Dragons), Tyrion meets a person named Griff
and his supposed son, the Young Griff
. Together, they are on a ship heading to Volantis to meet Daenerys.
However, Tyrion finds out that the Griff
is actually Jon Connington, another character missing from the series who was a former Hand of the Mad King. With the Young Griff
, Tyrion concludes that he must be Aegon Targaryen.
Wasn’t there already 5 Aegons before? Yes, but he would now be Aegon VI Targaryen and supposedly claims to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, who was killed by Robert during his rebellion. Thus, he would be Daenerys’ nephew and as the son of Rhaegar, he would have a claim to the throne – After all, Rhaegar would have been next after the Mad King.
So far, it is not confirmed whether he really is the son of Rhaegar or just a fraud. Many fans also believe that he is not a Targaryen, but a Blackfyre. This was a house of Targaryen bastards that tried to secure the throne through rebellions.
But how could Aegon survive Robert’s Rebellion? After Robert killed Rhaegar and his troops had taken King’s Landing, Tywin Lannister supposedly had all of Rhaegar’s children killed as a gift for Robert. However, Aegon tells Tyrion that Varys supposedly smuggled him out and brought another child in his place. This is how he came to the exiled Jon Connington.
Typical for ambitious Targaryens, he currently wants to grab the throne in the books as well. His allies include the Golden Company (a large group of mercenaries), with which he and Jon Connington aim to conquer Storm’s End and from there continue to invade Westeros.
Aegon is a big problem for Daenerys
How dangerous is Aegon? If he really is the son of Rhaegar (or if the opposite is never proven), he would be another contender fighting for the Iron Throne and also have a claim. As we already learn from the series, there are still Targaryen sympathizers in Westeros.
This would be a big problem for Daenerys (and thus also for Jon Snow) because she would have a competitor. As we should have learned from the past, multiple Targaryens claiming a throne is not exactly beneficial for the family. He himself has no issue confronting his aunt, as he openly explains to Tyrion.
With the Golden Company, he also has a strong army with which he could cause chaos in Westeros, in addition to the strife that already exists in the Seven Kingdoms.
Why did Aegon VI never appear in the series? There is no official information on this, but it can be assumed that they consciously chose not to introduce any more plot points. With Jon Snow, another Targaryen was introduced in the series, who was also born as Aegon
. The secret
son was thus processed differently.
So far, it is also unclear how his story continues in the novels. It is still unknown when The Winds of Winter will be released and if his story will be continued there. Fans can only hope.
What do you think about the Young Griff? Would you have liked to see him in Game of Thrones, or are you satisfied with the existing Targaryens? Feel free to let us know in the comments. You can learn more about the kings of Westeros here: The 10 best kings from the Game of Thrones universe in the ranking
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