In the four premiered chapters of the series The House of the Dragonwhich you can see on HBO Max, there was already several clues about the analysis of the argument family mental balance. Daemon Targaryen decapitated, castrated, and dismembered dozens of victims in a surprise raid on the streets of King’s Landing. Later, the disinherited prince beat a messenger to the point of almost killing him. In the fourth episode of The House of the DragonViserys insisted that his relatives are “chaotic and uncontrollable.”
Time and time again, the dynasty’s sanity seems to be part of a larger problem. One that will make them in the future a black legend in Westeros and martyrs of a tragedy that will lead them to destruction. But before that happens, The House of the Dragon offers us clues about the impact of the matter. A key point to understand the imminent internal war between the warring factions. Much more, the way in which an opulent reign ended up collapsing in ashes.
Madness as a complicated inheritance for The House of the Dragon
But is madness really that close to the Targaryens? The question points to much broader layers of power. Aegon the Conqueror imposed his rule over Westeros by force of fire and brutal slaughter. Later, most of their descendants battled on the backs of dragons to destroy entire territories in terrifying massacres.
Even Daenerys, the most distant descendant in the timeline shown in her television adaptations, ends up destroying King’s Landing. The reason? The Dragon Queen insisted on “liberating the city” (and apparently the rest of the continent) of dictators through death.
But first, the character suffered the loss of Missandei of Naath and two of her dragons. His mental health seemed to crack and despite the storytelling problems of the eighth season of Game of Thronesthe message is obvious.
The Queen was doomed to disaster. A a type of madness, inherited and shared by a good part of his family, which caused the dynasty to end up succumbing. A long line of misfortunes, murders and tragedies that turned the Targaryens into dark myths in Westeros.
The slow fall into disaster
In the eighth season of Game of Thrones, most of the data about the Targaryens was related to fear. Varys betrayed Daenerys, concerned that she might lose her mind as Aerys II Targaryen.
The same thing happened with Tyrion Lannister when he instigated Jon Snow to kill the queen. The fact is that the possibility that he could use his firepower against his enemies was becoming more and more apparent. The death of the Tarlys was a warning – the most alarming – of the decision of the last Targaryens to seize power by violence. But Was it ruthless war strategy or a form of madness? Whether due to potholes in the argument or lack of clarity, we have no certainty.
The book fire and blood, by George RR Martin, provides a detailed summary of the Targaryen family tree and the behavior of its members. On Reddit, a user analyzed the information and came to conclusions of interest. The long story makes it clear that only nine kings of The House could be considered literally crazy over fourteen generations. Also, that 27 of the regents were hailed as “righteous” and that 35 of them were only eventual occupants of the Iron Throne.
In three hundred years in power, it is evident that the number of dangerous or potentially insane Targaryens is low. However, apparently his behavior was considered so terrifying that insanity became a stigma. A latent possibility that turned the dynasty into a tragedy about to explode and devastate —as it almost happened in the end— the continent with it.
The Dark Magic of the Targaryens Game of Thrones a The House of the Dragon
“Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip the coin and the world holds its breath,” Jaehaerys II said of his entourage. Something that later Varys and Cersei Lannister would repeat. The idea seems related to a physical condition that manifests itself in extreme situations.
Also, with the link with the ancient magic of the dragons. or so it suggests Blood and fire going into detail about dementia attributed to the family. For example, one of the monarchs considered insane was Danys Targaryen, who still had a prophetic dream in Valyria.
One so explicit about the destruction of the House fiefdom in Essos, that it caused the family to flee to Westeros. The vision, which occurred twelve years before the tragedy, allowed them to save their lives. The narration proposes that it was actually an irrational impulse and close to paranoia, but benign in essence..
The same goes for Viserys I, whose dream of a male successor is narrated in The House of the Dragon. The king narrated, first, to his deceased wife Aemma and, later, to the very young queen Alicent, who could glimpse a man on the Iron Throne. “I saw him wear the crown and he was my heir,” she pointed out.
Voices from the past and the mystery in the family tree
Nevertheless, other similar experiences led the Targaryens to disasters and violent tragedies. Prince Aerion had an exalted certainty that he could become a dragon after a dream. So he drank wildfire, which ended up causing him an instant and gruesome death.
King Aegon V attempted to bring about the birth of one of the great magical beasts from petrified eggs in the midst of a monumental bonfire that he glimpsed in a vision. The attempt devastated the family’s summer retreat to ashes. A tragedy that became a symbol of Targaryen ambition in their darkest moments.
Madness manifests itself directly
King Maegor the Cruel, son of Aegon I, was considered insane due to his cruelty. In particular, for his cruelty to animals and his brutality in open field fighting. Martin suggests in his text that his “madness” could be due to a war injury. Still, the monarch terrified much of his subjects with bloody and unpredictable behavior.
At another extreme, familial mental disorders can also manifest more passively. As is the case with King Baelor, who starved to death by refusing to eat for unclear reasons.
Before that, he suffered a snake attack in Dorne. It was speculated that his psychiatric condition was related to the effects of the poison. But it was never fully established whether his decision to starve was more related to mystical views about purity.
An increasingly lethal inheritance
The list of Targaryen eccentricities grew over the centuries. Rhaegel, son of Daeron II, walked naked through the Red Keep. On so many occasions and in such an embarrassing way, that he ended up locked up. Queen Helaena, wife/sister of Aegon II, threw herself from a tower. In her case, it was due to the desperation that caused him to choose which of his three children would be killedwhich caused him a case of incurable dementia.
It is clear that Aerys II, the Mad King, is the most obvious example of the belief in Westeros about the madness of the dynasty. He murdered and tortured enemies and subjects alike. He also attempted to burn down King’s Landing in a wildfire blast, the mere possibility of which prompted Jamie Lannister’s decision to assassinate him. His son Rhaegar, father of Jon Snow, is described as obsessive and reckless “to dangerous levels.” Viserys, his younger brother, had delusions of grandeur and, also, outbreaks of unstoppable violence.
Sign up in hbo max and you will have access to the best series and exclusive movies What TheWire, The Sopranos either Game of Thrones. It includes the entire Warner catalogue, the Cartoon Network classics and the big premieres like Matrix Y dunes.
The House of the Dragon: in the end, fate is in the blood
Daenerys, the last descendant in the direct line, did not present symptoms of madness or violence right away. But yes of the already known prophetic dreams of the family.
In the second season of Game of Thrones, makes it clear that a “vision” told him what he should do to promote the birth of his dragons. Still, his mental stability seemed assured, or at least he seemed to be much more rational than the rest of his family were.
However, in the end, he ended up carrying out his father’s plan to devastate King’s Landing. Which seemed to confirm that even the best-intentioned Targaryens could be dangerous on a level hard to fathom.