Mad King: The worst Targaryen king in Game of Thrones history

Aerys II Targaryen was the Mad King, and ruled Westeros shortly before A Song of Ice & Fire begins. We see him briefly in Game of Thrones, wearing a crown that's inaccurate to ASOIAF lore, and even then only in tiny glimpses lasting no more than a few frames. Thanks for that, HBO. During his reign, we see the Tourney of Harrenhal, Rhaegar and Lyanna running off together, and Robert's Rebellion. When it was all said and done, and Jaime Lannister ended the rule of the Dragonkings, was Mad King Aerys as terrible as Aegon the Unworthy or Maegor the Cruel? Aerys haunts the ASOIAF narrative by being the grandfather of Jon Snow, the father of Daenerys Targaryen, and a parallel to Cersei Lannister.

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Thumbnail art:
Young Aerys by Bidonic Art   / bidonicart  
Mad Aerys (red) by Anastasia Prokofeva https://www.artstation.com/sigurn
Mad Aerys (grey) by Arthur Bozonnet https://azora.artstation.com/

Targaryen Kings Series    • Targaryen Kings Series  

Sources & further reading:
Lyanna Stark / KotLT theory https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/FAQ/...
GRRM / Varys's birds https://towerofthehand.com/blog/2013/...

Timestamps:
0:00 Prince Aerys (the sane years)
2:40 Early Reign (sane but jerk)
9:42 Aerys vs Tywin (i hope nobody wins)
12:35 Aerys vs Rhaella (i hope Rhaella wins)
14:01 Aerys vs Tywin 2.0 (Duskendale edition)
17:37 Later reign (the insane years)
23:21 Tourney of Harrenhal (don’t make me root for Rhaegar broo)
27:08 Robert’s Rebellion (it’s joever)

#asoiaf #houseofthedragon #gameofthrones