Hohenzollern, capetians (and descendants, including Bourbon) and Danish royals with their Frederick, Louis and Christian be like : are we a joke to you?
Maegor walked so the Targaryens could run 😆 no but, seriously, Maegor paved the way for the next Targaryen rulers to be able to focus on creating strong bonds and alliances to the other houses, Maegor made sure the Targaryens would have no opposition, it was easy for Jaehaerys to be a good king when everyone was already afraid of his family in the first place.
You’re right, he made sure no one would ever oppose house Targaryen again… which is why by the time he died, every single major house had turned on house Targaryen. If he’d killed Jaehaerys, they would’ve probably just abolished the 7 kingdoms right than and there.
@@videobooks3 Cruelty, like any other act, can have positive outcomes if utilized in certain ways. He was mostly cruel to the people who oppose or pissed him.
@@dylanlanzuela7305 he tortured Viserys to death. he usurped the throne from Aegon instead of helping him and Rhaena at Crakehall, then he killed Aegon in a battle that was a consequence of him usurping the throne in the first place
@@videobooks3 you said his cruelty came only after 41 AC out of self preservation when the Faith, maesters, and his own family was out to get him. but he made the decision to usurp the throne from the son of Aenys and chose not to help Aegon at Crakehall when Aegon's enemies at Crakehall were the same enemies of Maegor. he could have been the hero in the story if he had chosen to save his nephew and he would live on being respected. unless he was forced or talked into naming himself king by Visenya, he selfishly chose to crown himself. maybe that isn't cruel or make him a bloodthirsty usurper, but even though he didn't take the throne by blood he usurped the throne and went to the length of blood to keep it out of selfishness
@@lonemotheo1964 Of course! He did just burn 700 men alive that were challenging his rule so obviously Maegor would be happy to make such an arrangement to the lawful heir of the seven kingdoms who is a living challenge to his rule! That moron Aegon didn't even consider that his kind, sweet, forgiving uncle just wanted him brought "in chains if need be" to make arrangements of being co-rulers or even to name him his heir despite already being the heir of the previous king... And you people call Aegon the idiot.
I never realized how insanely similar Maegor and Daemon are. Both won 3 tilts but lost to the eventual champion at tourny, both had barren and political first marriages, both fought in Stepstones against pirates, both fought civil wars against Oldtown and the Hightowers, both brothers of a king, both rode dragons ridden by another first, both had courtesans from across narrow Sea. One might think that was intentional lol
@@videobooks3 that also kind of implies Aegon the Uncrowned would've had a similar reign to Aegon II and a worse dance of dragons type civil war would happen instead of the Faith Militant uprising type Maegor dealt with.
You forget the main thing... Both maegor and daemon saw themselves as valyrian dragonlords essentially above the laws and traditions of westeros and they didn't give a fuck about it
Yehh so he went to kills his sons and rape his daughter jnstead of helping them as any brother daemon helped rhaenyra thought he should ve been heir and was casted by her...
I imagine if Maegor got his own show his loyalty for his distant brother will be portrayed not out of duty but out of brotherly love because from what I see despite how weak and ineffective Aenys is he is the only person to treat and love Maegor as a family that he even gave him the sword Blackfyre, a kind of love that Maegor never had because Visenya, his own mother, did not treat him like a son but raised him more like a soldier and a pawn for her plans while Aegon was mostly absent in Maegor's life.
Not very loyal to his brothers sons, though. Especially the one he tortured to death while in his custody. Also it’s Probably because Maegor couldn’t openly challenge his older brother, the rightful king, without risking his own legitimacy. Despite Aenys’ own weakness, he was still the firstborn.
Jaehaerys had a free hand to rule Westeros as a peaceful and benevolent king because Maegor ground everyone who would have interfered into a fine paste.
@@yc6018 Yes, the Japanese refused to give up. And every American solider that came back alive and did not die storming Japan further believe it's right. It's very easy to judge when it's not up to you whether someone lives or dies.
@@yc6018 The entire reason behind Hiroshima and Nagasaki was because Japan would have allowed millions to die rather than surrender even though there was no way for them to win by that point of the war. I cant remember what it was called but Japan was about to launch a new defense strategy that would have conscripted everyone male or female from I beleieve the ages of 12-45 for the war effort and sent them to battle with no training and sometimes no equipment, there where even reports that some where going to be sent with SPEARS in the 1940's. Thats why It was decided to use the bombs. it was believed that the anniliation of 2 entire cities would cause less deaths on BOTH sides than a prolonged war with Japan.
@@HestakaPure American propaganda, any credible and unbiased scholar will tell you that the Soviets declaring war on Japan played a much bigger role in Japan's surrender than the atomic bombs.
He saw the faith of the seven for what they were. And his descendants let that cancer invade their house and destroy them. Viserys marrying the Hightowers doomed the house.
No, the Hightowers weren't the issue. Hell, it wasn't even the Velaryons or the Strongs involved either... it was Viserys himself who's to blame for the Dance of the Dragons.
@@thalmoragent9344 he was to weak and not strong minded wouldn’t surprise me if Otto had Jaeherys heir get killed in order for him to name viserys heir due to how naive he was and easy to control. But Otto is also to blame for the dance due to his desire for power him pimping out his daughter and naming Rhaenyra heir because he’s afraid of daemon only to turn when his plans weren’t met and make it a war with both her and daemon which became his downfall
@@ACinemafanatic Baelon's death wasn't foul play. There's no indication of it being poison of any kind at all, not to mention... why even kill Baelon? Jaehaerys was close to death anyways, and Baelon would no longer be Hand, he'd become King. So really, why bother?.
@@jostnaleman3738 lol No. All of Rhaenyra's kids actually hatched their own eggs in their cripts. Alicent's kids did not. Both Rhaenrya and Alicent's children are half Targaryen. Buy Rhaenyra's children have the blood of the first men running through their veins. So they are extra special.
@@videobooks3 Looks kinda similiar with the real story of the first Russian tsar Ivan IV "The Terrible", which nickname was not even translated properly. He also became a victim of the propaganda and black PR, like Richard III, for example.
Aegon would have been able enough. He was clearly capable of inspiring loyalty as he rallied 15000 men from only a small selection of minor lords. He likely only waited to tame a dragon for the same reason as maegor. They are all hatchling bar 3.
Maegor, to me, fulfills the archetype not only of a Stannis, but he is a Henry VIII on steroids. A handsome and promising prince in his youth driven madness by the fertility problems he presented. If perhaps, by proving himself sterile, he had established his role as a father figure for his nephews instead of following a child of his own when it has proven impossible, he would not have ended his sanity. For me, this was born thanks to Visenya, I'm sure she was the one who got into his head that the kings after him must be from his line, not just from Aenys.
His mistake was assuming the throne. He should have assumed the title of lord regent to Aegon the uncrowned and married Alyssa. Aegon for all his faults is an extra dragon rider
Aegon is 15 when his father dies, so that’s a whole year or more where Maegor has full control. Also Aegon was under siege from the faith originally so he wouldn’t be sympathetic towards them.
“He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.” And who controls all the info?? The citadel. And who does the citadel and Faith hate? Fuckin Maegor. So of course he’s not looked at as a anything but a monster. Great video
Maegor the Wise was the rightful and true heir of Aegon I the Conqueror, by Valyrian law the elder sister comes first and Aegon had to marry Visenya to inherit from their father, Lord Aerion. Rhaenys was his second wife, the woman on the side, and Visenya the true queen. But I fully believe Aenys and Maegor loved each other as brothers, the problem between them was Alyssa Velaryon because she knew Maegor was the rightful heir and she hated her brother-in-law for that fact. Alyssa would pass down her malice for Maegor to her and Aenys' sons to prevent them from forming any positive relationship. Skipping a bit here. Aegon the Unthinking fool should have united with Maegor to crush the rebellious Faith Militant. His sister Rhaena told him not to fight their uncle, Maegor had just saved their entire family by rallying a Targaryen loyalist army to stand against the Faith Militant. So much could have turned out for the better, Prince Aegon would have been his uncle's heir rather than his infant daughter Aerea, Quicksilver would survive (at least until the Dance), Rhaena wouldn't become a black bride, thus Alyssa Velaryon would have no good reason to further divide the Houses Targaryen, Velaryon and Baratheon by starting another rebellion behind her 11 year old son Jaehaerys (abandoning the older Prince Viserys altogether. TWICE.) with Lord Rogar Baratheon. With Maegor no Targaryen child would be given over as a hostage to Oldtown, Rhaella wouldn't have been given to the faith, and Aerea wouldn't have met the horrible fate she had under the rule of Jaehaerys.
@@videobooks3 In recent months I've started seeing Alyssa Velaryon and Rogar Baratheon as the Greens, with Visenya and Maegor being the Blacks of their time.
If older sister comes first, Aegon wouldn’t be lord of dragonstone. Before Aegon, only men were lords of dragonstone. It’s so unlikely that they were all oldest children.
@@bensonfang1868 Yes the men are the lords but by Valyrian law and custom they are supposed to marry and continue the family line through the elder sister.
And if that show does happen let's hope that the producers and directors not turn Maegor into a typical bad guy but it must be filled with alot of grey areas
I hope you'll appreciate Meager all the more when they film the scene of him torturing his teenage nephew to death, who was his squire, over the course of days.
One thing we should consider is that Maegor may not have been responsible for killing Viserys at all. The Faith could have done it and framed Maegor as a scapegoat. Keeping Viserys as a hostage prevents them from crowning Jaehaerys and let's remember that the only witness to the event besides Tyanna and Maegor was Owen Bush who was conveniently killed off before he could be properly questioned.
While I definitely think a lot of his cruel reputation was earned and deserved, it was also probably not entirely his fault. It seems pretty clear to have been a side effect of his magical resurrection and/or brain damage from the injury itself.
Yup. The Catholic Church pulled the same kinda stuff in history too. They had the power to excommunicate countries from trade and resources and a lot of Popes were basically emperors of Europe using religion
@@verde629 the difference is that the catholic church lied about their temporal as well as spiritual authority (see the fake donation of constantin), whereas the authority of the high septon is legitimate, since Aegon himself converted, was anoited by him and recognize his divine authority. Maybe he should have read the holy books before doing so if he wanted to keep the old valyrian traditions in westeros.
Seems pretty clear to me that the maesters were poisoning his wives when they were pregnant from the start. They knew they had to extinguish Maegor's line by any means necessary to get what they wanted.
@@Thrawn23. She only admitted it when she was threatened with torture though. Some people will say anything to avoid torture, including confessing to whatever they're told to confess to.
I would like more debating from the maesters about the condition Maegor was in after the trial by seven. That seemed to really fuck him up mentally as well.
I really appreciate how you implemented subtitles into the video with distinction between the script and book passages! And you perfectly credited all artists right on screen 👏
Honestly, House Targaryen wouldn’t have survived without Maegor. I’ve heard that House of the Dragon is going to be an anthology series. If so, they’ll undoubtedly do the Aegon the Conqueror story. I think Maegor will be a much more sympathetic character in the show. He’ll still be a badass and make morally gray choices, but I don’t think he’ll be the monster history makes him out to be
I agree. Maegor would be an excellent "villain protagonist", especially if juxtaposed to Aenys' [HotD Viserys/GoT Ned]-like character, if they decided to go that route. HotD has mostly done a good job rendering certain characters who were clearly exaggerated by history, into more realistic interpretations, so I don't see why they wouldn't do that with Maegor. Especially if they go the Visenya dark magic route
Magor was loyal to his brother, but did not honor the succession set in place by his father. I think Visenya played a big part in Magor’s actions. If he would have honored the succession, he would be regarded as one of the greatest Targaryen knights.
Visenya literally said that the realm needed a strong king a warrior and her son was one. She went to pentos where maegor was in exile to call him back. Until she was alive maegor didn't fuck up, he followed her advice and was balanced despite being ruthless. After her death he started to lose control of himself. He lacked political strategy
@@maegorbalerion Maegor should have never usurped the crown. If you really look deep into his actions, he in sense is somewhat responsible for the Dance also. Magor killed two of his nephews which weakened the Targaryen line.
@@terrencedean4356 keep in mind that according to valyrian law Visenya was the elder sister, and the only one aegon was supposed to marry while rhaenys was a plus. According to westerosi law aenys was the heir, but according to valyrian law it wasn't so clear. Anyway as I said maegor was the hand of the king of his brother and even when he went to exile he followed his brother's orders. Visenya called him back, threw the challenge of the trial by seven to faith. As soon as aegon the conqueror was dead, visenya started saying to the lords that even aenys by giving blackfire to maegor, he recognized his weakeness and maegor as someone more ready to be king. Visenya celebrated maegors second marriage and supported his poligamy. I mean mother and son behaved like valyria n dragonlords in the end
@@maegorbalerion Again Aegon set the precedent and followed the Westerosi tradition and practice of father to son succession. If Aegon intended Maegor to be king then he would of changed the succession. Remember Aenys was 30 and Maegor was in his Twenties before Argon died. I mean Maegor didnt even give Aegon the uncrowned a chance to be king. Again he killed 2 male Targaryens whiched weakened the family line.
Maegor technically wasn't a second son, Aegon married Visenya to inherit dragonstone...so shouldn't Maegor be the heir and first son? Know he wasn't born first, but Visenya was technically queen right? He had two wives but can only have one king and one queen...my opinion anyway lol
@@SocietyofIdiocracy Yeah that’s what I thought as well it should’ve been maegor as the heir as visenya was the first queen but aegon refused to change it. Many believed that rhaeyns son aeyns was actually a bastard by all rights.
Maegor did plenty wrong. He had the right ideas but also went about most of them the wrong way. There's a reason his rule was short, hated, and and ended in his death, but undeniably he DID take care of business here and there. You need just the right amount of both Diplomatic skills and Martial action. Both have their own merits but Maegor was too far Martial, not enough patience or diplomacy. Which is where Jaehaerys shined. He wasn't cruel like his uncle but, could also lay down the law and justice if need... he could stand a little blood if need be, unlike Viserys who came after him.
@@whatisreddin7367 I know, my first paragraph admitted that yes, he made his choices and some had decent affect, BUT, he went too far in many case. He did some good, but plenty bad.
@@thalmoragent9344 It seems most of the Maegor apologists keep glossing over multiple factors: 1. They accuse the accounts of Maegor being a tyrant as "maester propaganda", but when it comes to those same accounts describing his brother Aenys as a weakling, they seem fine to accept that. 2. The torture and murder of young Viserys, Jahaerys' elder brother, who was just fifteen. Maegor had taken him as a squire and hostage in the Red Keep, and thus was completely at his mercy. But Maegor decided to torture his nephew for days until he died and leave his corpse in the courtyard. All these "Maegor Stans" all seem to be perfectly willing to gloss over this, even though the action literally offered no benefit to Maegor, as Jahaerys would only seek revenge after his brother's murder, and would only cement him as a monster and a kinslayer.
While his actions may have undoubtedly helped the Targaryen dynasty maintain the grip on Westeros to quell any future rebellion, for people here to call Maegor a good and moral person is just plain wrong. Good at martially ruling, yes, and he was correct to fight the Faith when they seeked to rebel and challenge his family, but also an abysmal and unstable individual, morally inept and unjustly to those who he murdered without explanation. He killed and beheaded many unjustly for no reason whatsoever. His madness and his sins did both good for the survival of his family but for many like the treatment of his wives, are just shitty. If it were in a different timeline and Aenys was more willed, Aenys would've had a fine martial general by his side.
Just because the Maesters give no reason for his actions doesn't mean Maegor did not have good, vailid reasons for what he did; at least in his mind. He was a warrior who had no cause of his own to champion any longer after his mother died. Without her, there was no one to be honest with him or anyone for him to love and say what you will but Maegor was driven by love. Love for his father, his mother, and his brother drove all he did. Aegon went uncrowned for a reason, he would've been the death of the Targaryen dynasty; not to say Maegor was a healthy minded, sane, and well adjusted individual. He was a monster, no one can deny that, but much like Vlad the Impaler was a monster, yet none could deny the results he achieved as a monster for the right reasons (Vlad, not Maegor).
You go through the Mad Targaryens and first go "Huh, only six? That's hardly the coin-flip Jaehaerys II talked about." Then you look at them and even amongst that number is suspect. Baelor was a zealous, but being stun by all those snakes probably had as much to do with what came later as anything else. Rhaegal was mentally handicapped. Aerion does fit the ticket, so does Aerys, and at least circumstantially Viserys III. Helaena saw visions and got depressed over her childrens death, not exactly malicious. Maegor didn't even make the cut on the wiki page, and when you lay it all out he seems more in line with Daemon than Aerys. (For the most part, kind of lost what little inhibition he had later) So you have an exiled prince and one actual mad king in seventeen Targaryen Kings sitting the throne, and a exiled Prince driving himself mad with paranoia after. In three hundred years that's really not so bad. Other bloodlines have their nutters as well, like Tyrion the Tormenter.
I disagree. I think you're only talking about Targaryen kings. Here's an excerpt from the book A Storm of Swords where Ser Barristan Selmy is talking to Daenerys before he pledges his sword to her. “I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys (the 2nd) once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air, and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” All the Targaryens are included in this quote, not just Kings. Since the Targaryens are a royal family, every Targaryen is qualified to be a part of this gamble. From the books, every Targaryen is blood of the dragon, but there are numerous Targaryens (both male & female) who have had some madness or cruelty or something about them, not just kings. This is conveyed a lot through Fire & Blood and highlighted a bit in the Dunk & Egg novellas (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms). If you are only talking kings, yes, you have a point, but it is for all Targaryens, and there are so many it's crazy. Thank the 7, many of them didn't get to rule.
@@rasonmyhand2956 but I don't think there's that many, through fire and blood how mane could you say that were genuinely crazy? Enough to be considered so by the people of westeros, only Maegor really comes to mind when thinking about being genuinely crazy. We hear extensively about many many Targaryen characters and most of the are relatively normal for the standard of the world. Maybe Aemond-one-eyed could be considered a psycho, from the rest none come to mind that would be significantly worse than Tywin for example (who is not considered crazy in world). There might be 1-2 more that I'm not remembering, but they are definitely a minority
I would bet money that Aenys told Visenya on his death bed that she was right and that he should’ve never sent Maegor away. I would bet he told her to get Maegor and make things right and save his children. Maegor is never cruel to anyone who isn’t trying to fight him and Aenys children fight him at every step even though he was doing what needed to be done and what they were to weak to do. Yeah at the end he goes crazy but who wouldn’t when you’re trying to save your family and it’s your family trying to stop you. Had they actually talked to Maegor I’m almost 100% sure he would’ve named Aegon the uncrowned his heir unless he had a child and even then he seems like the type of guy to tell Aegon that if he died and his child was still too young then by all means take the thrown and keep our family safe. Especially if they are going off the prophecy from HOTD. If the Targaryens fall then so falls the world in their view and no one should take that chance even for the safety of your brothers stubborn kids. Should he have named himself regent/lord protector or even Hand instead of king probably but that blame falls on Visenya imo always whispering in his ear telling him he should be king but by the point Aegon the uncrowned gets a dragon it’s way too late to go back and it should’ve been obvious he wasn’t going to win against the black dread. It’s so sad when people’s lives could’ve been saved from just talking. Such a simple thing to do and still it doesn’t happen.
37:30 wow jonos slew his brother and stole his crown while Maegor avenged Ronnel and put down revolts against his brother. True case of two second sons and how they treat their lordly brothers
@@videobooks3 dragons hadn’t fought one another in at least 100 years and probably more given that Valyria probably didn’t have a civil war right before the doom.
yes all he saw was he wants his chair. he is the reason why the faith is in revolt and he uncle maegor is correcting it for him but he Is attacking his uncle! did he not realize that if he won the faith would still continue coming after him. he should have sided with maegor. as you said understandable, nobody would give that up but watch your position. your marriage is the reason your family at war with the faith. if you happen to defeat maegor in the field which no one has done, your next battle is with the faith after 3/4 of your fighting force is destroyed fighting maegor.
I'm 100% with you on this. There's such an obvious bias in the book against Maegor. I can't help but feel the Sept and the Maesters are secretly married.
@@videobooks3 Yet, you are still willing to use those same accounts of the maesters describing Maegor's brother Aenys as a weakling king, even when claiming those same accounts saying Meager was a tyrant are biased.
yes we need more videos like that. George purposely wrote the books this way meaning the maesters and winners write stuff how they feel and who they like. I am pretty sure if they wrote this about maegor , jaeherys would have had it destroyed as he hated his uncle maegor with a passion. the mere mention of his name even In his old age by either his wife or his kids sent him mad. but when I read the books I was like wait a minute the maesters aren't saying this but this guy saved the kingdom and kept it in Targaryen possession. his brother king aenys, jaehery,s dad, retreated to dragon stone the island and left kings landing for the faith and he have dragons aka air power. so the faith was pretty much in control of westoros. so visenya went and got her son in exile and this guy came and brutalized them, breaking all modern day rules of engagement and burning churches from above with faith militant and civilians at prayer. then he took the fight to old town, which is Rome to the faith. said he was going to burn it down. when they saw the two biggest dragons in existence and the biggest the world had even scene meaning baelerion the black dread they open the city and didn't put up a fight and handed over the high septon their version of the pope. so just incase they are supporting them undercover maegor came for the head of the snake.
Still, enough witnesses and personal accounts in the books and shows seem to all have the consensus of Maegor being a monster. When everyone from the Faith, the Citadel, the surviving Targaryens, and most of the commoners and nobles are all condemning you, it Doesn’t matter if he resolved one crisis if he ended up sprouting three others.
Very good vid, I always thought Maegor was a victim of character assassination by the Maestors and yes house Targaryen would have died out had he stayed in pentos, since Rhaena was no warrior and she was besieged with her brother Aegon by the warrior sons and poor fellows, and Viserys was dragonless so when the faith took out the order siblings who had dragons, what’s to stop them from taking out Viserys and freeing themselves of the conquerors descendants
I definitely think it's greatly significant that Aenys essentially made Maegor his co-ruler (which IRL did happen - for example King Harthacnut made his half-brother Edward the Confessor his co-monarch) - but Maegor bore both the swords of House Targaryen. Essentially in symbolism - Maegor was a partner in rule, but in reality - he was the only one defending House Targaryen. I think that also explains a lot of his later outrage at Aenys. Aenys promised Maegor he never had to kneel to him again - and yet Aenys rages that he never gave approval for Maegor's second marriage. I understand a lot of where Maegor was coming from in that regard.
Maegor is like tywin. He took command as joffreys rule was failing and temporarily restored some order. But that is looking at the characters objectively. Morally they are both evil characters who fight for their own preservation(if joffrey or aenys fell to their enemies, both tywin and maegor would have suffered and so self preservation )
The doctrine of exceptionalism is a corruption of the true doctrine of the faith, of course it was necessary to mass murder the members of the faith to get them to abandon their sacred beliefs, and even when massacred true believers are not going to abandon what they believe to be the laws of god
I've just started watching - and I have to say, I'm delighted you've made this video. I think there is a lot to be said for re-evaluating Maegor - examining his relationship with his mother, his father and his brother - and coming at least to understanding him, if not necessarily endorsing a lot of what he did. Martin doesn't write a lot of unambiguous monsters - so I think it's only right we follow this train of thought. Definitely going to listen to the whole thing - and can't wait to get to the end for more discussion!
@@videobooks3 I'm also delighted you've touched on the power trinity of the Faith, the Citadel - and House Hightower. I think there is definitely an argument to be made that Maegor's marriage, the discontent of the faith, and the Maester's writing of Maegor's history was all part of a wider scheme to either domesticate or eliminate the Targaryens.
@@jroygbivi absolutely agree, but to be fair he does make a few mistakes here and there. For example he clearly describes Renlys eye colour as blue, like Robert. But later says his eyes were green, when he wed margery
Often there's a comparison between Maegor and Joffrey. That couldn't be further from the truth. Joffrey was a spoiled sadistic brat with delusions of grandeur, but breaks when shit hits the fan. Where as Maegor, though rumoured to be sadistic, had the maturity and the sense of duty to the greater good, and had a remarkable clear-headedness when faced with immeasurable odds.
Aegon could have multiple wives but Visenya was technically his queen. Maegor should have been heir, he probably would have fathered no children so his brother would have inherited, then Aegon, his son, and so on. So everything would have still technically stayed the same but maybe dance of dragons wouldn't have happened because Maegor ruling longer would have brought more stability to the realm. There would have been no faith uprising because they wouldn't have done $hit about Aegon marrying his sister with Maegor holding the throne lol
Exactly or after Aenys death his family needed to just work alongside Maegor the same way Aenys did at the start of his reign, and then when Maegor produced no children Aegon the Uncrowned and Rhaena could have inherited the throne
Sometimes you need a leader who will create enough fear in the realm to get things done without making them feel as if they have no alternative but rebel against you. Finding that perfect balance between fear and respect.
I literally put this on to fall asleep to and found myself sitting up in bed watching until the end! This was so good and I agree Maegor is a hero if nothing else! He did what needed to be done!💯
I would say that his unwillingness to follow the laws of succession were his only real failing based on this reading of his history. Yes, one could say only the strong should rule, but such a realm would be constantly under threat of a second son deciding they're more worthy of the throne than their elder brother. Such a realm would collapse. Maybe not immediately, but the constant uncertainty of who will be king would be unsustainable. Had Maegor had heirs, or even just one heir, and that heir had assumed the throne, then the precedent would be set for a second son to usurp their elder brother's line and be considered legitimate. The realm would have collapsed eventually.
15:30 I don't think we can say that Rhea Royce was barren. Her marriage with Daemon was most likely arranged by Queen Alysanne, and I do not think she would knowingly marry her grandson to a barren woman. Plus Rhea was barely a teenager when the marriage was arranged, how could anyone tell if she was barren at that point? The most likely reason why her and Daemon didn't have kids is simply because they disliked each other and never had sex. In fact, Daemon was either in King's Landing or in the Stepstones for the entirety of their marriage and there's no indication that Rhea ever left the Vale or was around him
While I mostly agree with the general idea of the video I believe part of the reason Rhaena expected for Maegor to send for her is that him and his mother previously wanted Aegon to marry him and Rhaena but were denied such opportunity so in his head he’d be just claiming his right to her hand since she’s the oldest Targaryen woman in their timeline and the match is only natural for the dragonlords that they are.
He got shafted so badly in so many ways. The worst is his marriage to ceryse hightower. They knew what they were doing, she was much older than him and unmarried meaning they must have known she was barren and not had her married off much earlier. The Faith, Maesters and Hightowers were out to get the Targaryens since DAY 1, they played the long game. Challenged to a trial of seven by zealots, fucking wins it despite having a rag-tag team, goes into a coma for a fucking month only to wake up and find out that the fucking zealots whose own game he won fairly still refused to surrender. Then People always say he usurped his nephews throne.... aegon never claimed it in the first place, he was trapped in Crakehall by the faith militant and only left once Maegor had scattered them to the wind. Then the first thing he does is run straight to kings landing to get dragons and try and fight his uncle who just saved his entire dynasty from being overthrown??? Is he stupid??? Then tries to fight fucking Balerion with basically an infant dragon in comparison. Then whoops, Visenya passes away at the worst possible time, the only good constant throughout his whole life gone without getting to say goodbye, leaving Tyana Thelis as the only person he really thinks he can trust. Then when the rest of his family still tries to go against him, he desperately tries to have a child of his own only to find out too late that his 3rd wife had been fucking him over this whole time by aborting all his other wifes kids and probably feeding him all sorts of lies over the years. Then when he finds out everyone else has betrayed him he just kills himself because theres nothing else left for him to do except kill the rest of his family which he obviously doesnt want to do (saving his dynasty was the whole fucking reason he took over in the first place LMAO)
Love your videos. You have a great voice for these kinds of video essays. Also, I like the background soundscape. It is much more ambient than the "where is my mind" loop
love your passion dude. there is plenty of room for you in the fantasy side of literary analysis RUclips. it is insanely hard work keeping consistent posts. I'm gonna sub and like to support lol, already an audible member :)
Maegor had no one around him he could trust, the Faith and the Hightowers should've been obliterated off the face of planetos. One of my favorite characters.
Maegor clearly suffered from ‘super male syndrome’, a genetic mutation that creates a extra Y chromosome. This mutation causes hyper aggression and infertility.
@@adamantiiispencespence4012 Something clearly happened to those women between the point of conception and birth that caused the death of those children. One or two could be seen as genetic defects from inbreeding (though it strangely only rarely affected the Targaryens), but all of them with so many women? Much like Aenys' sudden bad health, this was poison.
@@adamantiiispencespence4012 yes he conceived unborn and deformed babies. With some of his multiples wives but mostly of the mothers died during of shortly after chilbirth.
Having not done a ton of reading into this part of Targaryen history and not knowing how it goes. When I hear Maegor calling bannerman and only getting a bunch of houses I haven’t heard of before 😬 yeah I think I can see where this is headed for him… and why I didn’t hear about any of those houses while reading ASOIAF.
Those houses gave gone extinct throughout the centuries due to war, pestilence, and other factors. However, to read more about them, you should Fire & Blood. That is where all of this can be found.
Okay, this should be fun. I’ve heard some Meagor arguments before and have not been convinced he wasn’t awful. I’m writing this message prior to watching the video. I’ll add an edit with additional thoughts after I’ve mulled things over some.
Maegor wasn't cruel. A lot of people betrayed him and what disloyal people tend to do is slander who they betray because they think they're betrayal while be socially accepted. So what they do is betray, then talk bad about him, betray, then talk bad about him, betray then talk bad about them. Don't believe me, do a case study: watch tens video on RUclips of women who cheated talking about the husbands and boyfriends they betrayed and I guarantee you it will take you thirty more videos to find one woman who doesn't talk bad or fictionalize a demon about the person she betrayed. Do it. DO IT. It will jar your psyche and spin your world, when you witness so many case studies apply this strategy of fictionalizing badly the person they betrayed after they betrayed them. So basically malice on top of malice created the boogeyman story of Maegor the Cruel.
People who are good at being bad are bad in several steps of their schemes: e.g., step one, betray and then step two, lower the estimation irrelevant to the facts of the person you betrayed in the eyes of others. What that will do is make your betrayal less taboo because betrayal alone without that other Machiavellian step means you'll have a stigma over your head (justifiably so) as an unreliable person or someone you can't put faith in.
In house of the Dragon Rhea Royce saya that Daemon never consumated their marrige. So if she was barren maybe Daemon knew and refused to make the marrige valid.
I personally like maegor and visenya I believe they get a bad name in history especially by the maestors. Yes maegor may have been sadistic we don’t know what truly could’ve happen to him but still.
I agree that Maegor saved his house, and did what needed to be done as far as dealing with the faith lunatics. But other than that, Maegor was not a good king, nor good man. He just did too many cruel and unspeakable, unforgettable, and unforgivable things, including to his own family, after taking power.
@@videobooks3 Dude, your videos on GOT and HOTD are fucking AWESOME! I've been binge watching them for at least 2 or 3 weeks now! Keep em coming! I'm here for it!
This is an excellent video. Would be awesome for a series in this format on the other targ kings. Very nice to listen to at work when I can’t be playing agot on ck2.
I think Maegor was essential in cementing Targaryen rule in Westeros for over two centuries. He put the fear of dragons in them. If Aegon was the conqueror, Maegor was the one who went through and triumphed over the trial by fire that most young dynasties crumble under.
Aegon I told the faith that his marriage to his sisters was a reminiscence of old valyrian tradition but descendants would stop the incestuous marriages so they tolerated it and considering he had no daughter that was a easy to say and do ! Then aenys went over that and made his son and daughter marry each other causing the uprising of the faith
You're forcing a lot to let him look not mad, when he was BAD since childhood just as Joffrey. He had some points of course. But the badass queen Rhaena knew
Your voice and narration is great, I love you writing too but please change the layout and keep the concept, seeing the subtitles is sooo useful but the font is difficult to read and the colour doesn't contrast well with the background and the beautiful pictures are too small, but I love the music and you voice is so soothing and I love listening to you.
Some of the pictures we use are really low quality so to solve this we don't make the pictures too large, otherwise some of the art will look a lot worse than others and make for a jarring experience 😅
There may have been justifications for some of his actions, but no amount of rationalization can change the reality that Maegor was a vicious, tyrannical, greedy king. Saying that certain groups of people (like the Faith militant) had it coming and that just somehow makes everything okay is no different than condoning Hitler's or Stalin's or Mao's atrocities because, hey, they kept order. Men who crave power look back on the mistakes of their lives, pile them all together, and call it destiny.
Did you watch the video? Because like George we are critiquing the very notion of "kingship" and that Maegor was a horrible human being, but an A+ King because to be a great King is to destroy your enemies and produce an heir no matter the morality of how you go about doing either
@@videobooks3 I did, and I simply fundamentally reject that concept. You can't be a good leader while at the same time being a horrible human being. Given how Maegor's reign ended, with most of Westeros gathered against him, I think very few, if any, of his subjects would have agreed with this video.
@@videobooks3 Then by that logic maegor is a terrible king he had no heir. And by the time of his death was so surrounded by enemies that people believe he might’ve committed suicide. Aegon 1 and jahaerys are the examples of A+ kings
@@stormedcapone him not being able to produce an heir wasn't his fault, and it is sus how after Tyanna dies, the maesters and Jaehaerys move in to overthrow him before he can father an heir and give Vhagar to someone he trusts
@@elagabalusrex390 Kings aren't good leaders, they are people like Kim Jong-Il and Putin, who don't care about their people and live only to rule through oppression
interesting that a guy named Davos is recalling Orys Baratheon winning an important battle with onion imagery, really feels like it’s foreshadowing how stannis could die after taking winterfell from the boltons
Warning: Sorry for all the terrible grammer mistakes you are about to witness. My own personal theory is that Aenys was Rhaeny's bastard. After her death and Visenya's lack of fertility, I believe Aegon named Aenys his heir. He was their only bloodkin at the time and sentimental. (I think This fits GRM's style. GRM loves to explore how selfless/bad decisions lead to worse outcomes and I think this fits the bill. One of the most common problems with royal polygamy is that it creates family crisis of who is entitled to what. It also fosters animosity because kids are in constant competition with each other. Chinese history is littered with child killing and family murder for this reason. Adding an extra layer of legitimacy questions only adds to this problem. Plus it was mentioned that Rhaeny's had a tendency to take other men to bed. So it's not out of the question. Plus I think it'd be ironic that every future generation claim to the Iron throne is that they are direct descendants of Aegon. Despite that not being the case. It's delicious drama. Anyways back to it....) Angered and desperate I believe Visenya used magic to create Maegor (I don't think anything was wrong with Visenya but rather Aegon was infertile). Visenya was no natural mother but I truly believe her and Maegor were abnormally close (like unhealthy level of close). Both blacksheep and both much more warrior then the rest of the family. Now that there as was a true heir but Aegon refused to change succession. This is what caused the ultimate fracture between Visenya and Aegon. It is also what pushed her to become far more Machiavellian for the throne. Visenya was already wronged by Aegon multiple times dispite being arguably the most capable of the siblings. So with time she pushed her ambitions onto Maegor. I don't know why either Maegor or Visenya acted against Aenys after Aegon but I have theories. My top one, love won out. As I do think there was some genuine care present there. Maegor and Visenya both counseled and fought for him despite criticizing him openly and behind closed doors. They also never once acted against him during his reign. It was only after Aenys betrayal to faith did both Visenya and Maegor defy him. It is also reasonable to believe that is when all love was lost. As Maegor didn't return with Balerion. A move that probably could have saved his brother. Visenya continued to counsel but made no move to help. While I don't think it's out of the relm of possiblity, I don't think Visenya killed Aenys. Visenya is many things, but unlike her son , she never once show such ruthless toward her family. After his death they saw no reason not to take the Throne. They saw the Iron throne as theirs by right, by strength, and by necessity at the time. People can say many things about Visenya and Maegor, but they can't deny that had they not ruled House Targaryen would be extinct, or at the very least overthrown with many casualties. Aegon "The Uncrowned" was a child who they obviously weren't close to and ultimately couldn't be relied upon. Truly, I don't think Maegor would have made a bad king had his head wound not happened. He would have been Stannis on steroids and perhaps father to a child or two under the right circumstances, but not a terrible king. We really only see him get leaps worse after two events: his head wound and his mother's death (he kills Viserys 1 and becomes far more willing to hurt his family afterwards. If I'm correct then he blamed Alyssa for Visenya's murder or something???) In the end his regin was a necessary evil for house Targaryen. One that ended in blazing success for future generations but tragedy for the Visenya's line and maybe Aegon's aswell. (Addressing the bastard rumor. It' perfectly possible that Jaehaerys and Old Town collaborated to lessen these accusations in written history. They most likely inflated both Maegor and the Visenya's cruelty as well. It does say something though that despite all of this and the general enigma of the conquerors, that such serious accusations of bastardly were brought up though.)
King Aenys and king viserys have so much in common. The incapability of making decision as a king. However when king aenys failed to bring the dawnfall of house targaryen, king viserys so good at doing this job. From this we learn being a good person doesn't make you a good king. PERIODT!!
Maegor was essentially like strong medicine. Very powerful, made changes with force that his brother couldn't do in his lifetime but his violence also reminded the people that the Targaryens are more devil than godlike people. The following king Jaehaerys was the best king who ruled Westeros because not only did he rule well for many decades but he was the one who truly united the six kingdoms right after his uncle's tyrannical reign. Maegor reminded Westeros that house Targaryen should be feared and Jaehaerys reminded them that they can also make things better. In the end, this succession of kings formed the bedrock for many years of Targaryen rule.
yea what Meagor did to Viserys can not be excused he had his own 15 year old nephew tortured for nine days and dumped his body in the courtyard that was beyond disturbing
It's really interesting it goes to show much power the Hightowers really have especially after watching HOTD in some way it's easy to believe that they're the real power in the reach and they pretty much can raise a second army in the faith. If I'm not mistaken Rhaenyra didn't have a maester on dragon stone in the last episode because of the very possibility they could spy on her for the Hightower's. Basically put it's not a wise idea to fuck around and make yourself an enemy of the Hightowers.
With daemon it was shown early that he was having trouble “finishing”. Hell knowing him he probably did not finds women descendent from valyria as worthy/attractive.
which makes no sense bc why would he frequent brothels if he couldn't get 'it' up? word would get around and it would be humiliating for him it was just a complete joke from the writers that clearly had a dislike for his character. It's also so funny that of all the character's from F&B they decided to make have issues with sex was the one who had sex the most.
When I read Fire and Blood and went through Maegor reign, I really did not fully understand why he was labelled as cruel, except for the end, where he was then fully known as manipulated by Tyanna the true vilain in all this, when his very objective was to get a son, but she trully fucked him up and so many other women, that he took desperately for wives... this is also true for House of the Dragons shows who portrays the black like the best Targaryen ever, when its not exactly portray like this in the book, where the green are actually better.
Honestly, if Aegon the Uncrowned intended to stay in Westeros, he should have said "sure I'll come to King's Landing, if you make me hand and/or make me Prince/Lord of Dragonstone, permanently, to be inherited by my issue." I think Maegor would have agreed to that tbh. But yeah Aegon should have known when to give up on the crow
Yeah that’s what I think too he was cruel cuz he had to be cuz he coulda killed aeneys years before and made himself king but he didn’t which confused me
I agree , Maegor was a necessary evil - and how evil? Truthfully; you’re right as he simply “shrugged” when heard his family ran to Driftmark. I do believe that he may have had something happen when he was in his coma and came out changed for the worse. That’s probably why his mother began to hate Tyanna in the end. She must of done some black magic on him as you don’t hear of any extraordinary evil tales prior to his coma. He wasn’t even as evil as Otto whose first step was to depose Rhaenaras entire family . Hopefully we’ll get some HBO series from around this time as well. If Aegon the uncrowned was actually crowned at the time; this would have definitely been the end of Targaryen rule.
Prior to his coma, Maegor hacked a horse to death that had kicked him. He also killed a stable boy who came to investigate. How would the family have been ended if Aegon had been crowned? There’s nothing stopping Maegor form just supporting his nephew and crushing the Faith in his name.
Westerosi history is always so fun because they only had, like, nine names in each family.
Yeah 😅
Hohenzollern, capetians (and descendants, including Bourbon) and Danish royals with their Frederick, Louis and Christian be like : are we a joke to you?
I think every royal family is like that. Pretty much all the Brits are either George, Henry, William or Edward
@@fandemusique4693swedish royals also have like 20 Kings named Charles
Not unlike in noble houses of medieval/Renaissance (and later) Italy, France, Balkans, Hungary... The custom doesn't encompass royal houses alone.
man two and a half hours of GoT lore. Thank you for making this and giving a ill man something to do during chemo treatment, please keep doing these!
I'm really sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you enjoyed the video and we should have A Feast for Dragons done in 3 weeks
@@videobooks3 i look foward to it my friend, its always a pleasure when i see a new video of yours!
@@korlashgaming8313 hope you recover. Glad you have media to enjoy
Good luck!! Mum, aunty and uncle have all been through it and I can tell you while it’s hard there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!! 🙏💙
@@korlashgaming8313 Get well bruh!
Maegor walked so the Targaryens could run 😆 no but, seriously, Maegor paved the way for the next Targaryen rulers to be able to focus on creating strong bonds and alliances to the other houses, Maegor made sure the Targaryens would have no opposition, it was easy for Jaehaerys to be a good king when everyone was already afraid of his family in the first place.
After Maegor, no one ever tried to back House Targaryen into a corner
You’re right, he made sure no one would ever oppose house Targaryen again… which is why by the time he died, every single major house had turned on house Targaryen. If he’d killed Jaehaerys, they would’ve probably just abolished the 7 kingdoms right than and there.
@@videobooks3 Cruelty, like any other act, can have positive outcomes if utilized in certain ways.
He was mostly cruel to the people who oppose or pissed him.
@@dylanlanzuela7305 he tortured Viserys to death. he usurped the throne from Aegon instead of helping him and Rhaena at Crakehall, then he killed Aegon in a battle that was a consequence of him usurping the throne in the first place
@@videobooks3 you said his cruelty came only after 41 AC out of self preservation when the Faith, maesters, and his own family was out to get him. but he made the decision to usurp the throne from the son of Aenys and chose not to help Aegon at Crakehall when Aegon's enemies at Crakehall were the same enemies of Maegor. he could have been the hero in the story if he had chosen to save his nephew and he would live on being respected. unless he was forced or talked into naming himself king by Visenya, he selfishly chose to crown himself. maybe that isn't cruel or make him a bloodthirsty usurper, but even though he didn't take the throne by blood he usurped the throne and went to the length of blood to keep it out of selfishness
I like how you describe Aegon's rebellion not as a rebellion but an assisted suicide
He's a bit like Viserys from AGOT, like why are you threatening Khal Drogo (Maegor)?
@@videobooks3 I always thought of it like that as well. What a fool Aegon the Uncrowned was, to challenge the rider of the Black Dread.
Well when u can't fix stupid. Their actions will come around to correct that
I find it really weird both men were so quick to go to war with each other like Maegor couldn't offer to make Aegon his heir until he had a son
@@lonemotheo1964 Of course! He did just burn 700 men alive that were challenging his rule so obviously Maegor would be happy to make such an arrangement to the lawful heir of the seven kingdoms who is a living challenge to his rule! That moron Aegon didn't even consider that his kind, sweet, forgiving uncle just wanted him brought "in chains if need be" to make arrangements of being co-rulers or even to name him his heir despite already being the heir of the previous king... And you people call Aegon the idiot.
I never realized how insanely similar Maegor and Daemon are. Both won 3 tilts but lost to the eventual champion at tourny, both had barren and political first marriages, both fought in Stepstones against pirates, both fought civil wars against Oldtown and the Hightowers, both brothers of a king, both rode dragons ridden by another first, both had courtesans from across narrow Sea. One might think that was intentional lol
Either history repeats or George RR Martin repeats himself 😂
@@videobooks3 that also kind of implies Aegon the Uncrowned would've had a similar reign to Aegon II and a worse dance of dragons type civil war would happen instead of the Faith Militant uprising type Maegor dealt with.
You forget the main thing... Both maegor and daemon saw themselves as valyrian dragonlords essentially above the laws and traditions of westeros and they didn't give a fuck about it
GRRM repeats himself a lot. Once I noticed it i couldn't stop pointing it out lol
Their wives weren’t actually barren, dude… this is a common trip to placate moronic kings…
I find it interesting that you’ve taken up this mantle.
For someone who grew up so distant from his brother, Maegor was very loyal to his brother
Yehh so he went to kills his sons and rape his daughter jnstead of helping them as any brother daemon helped rhaenyra thought he should ve been heir and was casted by her...
I imagine if Maegor got his own show his loyalty for his distant brother will be portrayed not out of duty but out of brotherly love because from what I see despite how weak and ineffective Aenys is he is the only person to treat and love Maegor as a family that he even gave him the sword Blackfyre, a kind of love that Maegor never had because Visenya, his own mother, did not treat him like a son but raised him more like a soldier and a pawn for her plans while Aegon was mostly absent in Maegor's life.
Not very loyal to his brothers sons, though. Especially the one he tortured to death while in his custody.
Also it’s Probably because Maegor couldn’t openly challenge his older brother, the rightful king, without risking his own legitimacy. Despite Aenys’ own weakness, he was still the firstborn.
@@captainvalourous6668If Maegor really loved his brother why did he torture his nephews? Did he not see his brother through his children?
@@KumarAnshs
The same reason why Aegon IV is a crappy ruler despite his father, Viserys II, is a good ruler. They were a person of their own.
Jaehaerys had a free hand to rule Westeros as a peaceful and benevolent king because Maegor ground everyone who would have interfered into a fine paste.
Yes and general mcarthur had free hand to rule japan as a peaceful overlord because nagazaki and hiroshima, but does it make it right?
@@yc6018 Yes, the Japanese refused to give up. And every American solider that came back alive and did not die storming Japan further believe it's right. It's very easy to judge when it's not up to you whether someone lives or dies.
@@yc6018 The entire reason behind Hiroshima and Nagasaki was because Japan would have allowed millions to die rather than surrender even though there was no way for them to win by that point of the war. I cant remember what it was called but Japan was about to launch a new defense strategy that would have conscripted everyone male or female from I beleieve the ages of 12-45 for the war effort and sent them to battle with no training and sometimes no equipment, there where even reports that some where going to be sent with SPEARS in the 1940's. Thats why It was decided to use the bombs. it was believed that the anniliation of 2 entire cities would cause less deaths on BOTH sides than a prolonged war with Japan.
@@HestakaPure American propaganda, any credible and unbiased scholar will tell you that the Soviets declaring war on Japan played a much bigger role in Japan's surrender than the atomic bombs.
@@tristanhcf1116 I'm not American, and those notes are from both British and Japanese reflections on the war.
He saw the faith of the seven for what they were. And his descendants let that cancer invade their house and destroy them. Viserys marrying the Hightowers doomed the house.
No, the Hightowers weren't the issue. Hell, it wasn't even the Velaryons or the Strongs involved either... it was Viserys himself who's to blame for the Dance of the Dragons.
@@thalmoragent9344 he was to weak and not strong minded wouldn’t surprise me if Otto had Jaeherys heir get killed in order for him to name viserys heir due to how naive he was and easy to control. But Otto is also to blame for the dance due to his desire for power him pimping out his daughter and naming Rhaenyra heir because he’s afraid of daemon only to turn when his plans weren’t met and make it a war with both her and daemon which became his downfall
@@ACinemafanatic
Baelon's death wasn't foul play. There's no indication of it being poison of any kind at all, not to mention... why even kill Baelon? Jaehaerys was close to death anyways, and Baelon would no longer be Hand, he'd become King. So really, why bother?.
what the fuck are you talking about? all the children Viserys had with Allicent were more targaryen than the strong boys
@@jostnaleman3738 lol No. All of Rhaenyra's kids actually hatched their own eggs in their cripts. Alicent's kids did not. Both Rhaenrya and Alicent's children are half Targaryen. Buy Rhaenyra's children have the blood of the first men running through their veins. So they are extra special.
FINALLY. I’ve found my people. I am a Maegor stan. I fully believe “the cruel” is meastor propaganda
We reckon so much of Targaryen history is skewered by the maesters
@@videobooks3
Looks kinda similiar with the real story of the first Russian tsar Ivan IV "The Terrible", which nickname was not even translated properly.
He also became a victim of the propaganda and black PR, like Richard III, for example.
Maegor stans unite!
@@vanessaprincesssa I feel so seen.
Well killing your own family and others whole family would leave measters skeptical
Finally! someone saw the light and gave my boy Maegor his due! House Targayern would die in the hands of the faith of 7 if not for Maegor
Aegon would have been able enough. He was clearly capable of inspiring loyalty as he rallied 15000 men from only a small selection of minor lords. He likely only waited to tame a dragon for the same reason as maegor. They are all hatchling bar 3.
@@archietall2339give time? Yes. In the situation he was, so sieged into a castle with no dragons and no army?
Nobody can.
Maegor, to me, fulfills the archetype not only of a Stannis, but he is a Henry VIII on steroids. A handsome and promising prince in his youth driven madness by the fertility problems he presented. If perhaps, by proving himself sterile, he had established his role as a father figure for his nephews instead of following a child of his own when it has proven impossible, he would not have ended his sanity. For me, this was born thanks to Visenya, I'm sure she was the one who got into his head that the kings after him must be from his line, not just from Aenys.
Yeah, what could have been for both Maegor and Henry VIII, had they just taken a different path
She got him to believe that Aenys wasn't Aegon's Son.
Yeah it feels like Maegor and Aegon IV were each written as parallels of Henry VIII, each getting aspects of him.
on steroid and crack xd
I would that Was Aegon IV was more Henry 8th but I get your point
His mistake was assuming the throne. He should have assumed the title of lord regent to Aegon the uncrowned and married Alyssa. Aegon for all his faults is an extra dragon rider
Another thing he coulda done is use the long night prophecy to convince lord stark to fight for him as lord stark had no ties to the faith
Aegon is 15 when his father dies, so that’s a whole year or more where Maegor has full control. Also Aegon was under siege from the faith originally so he wouldn’t be sympathetic towards them.
The better way around was just accept his lack of children, and once Ceryse, who is much older, dies, he could became a member of the Kingsguard.
“He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.”
And who controls all the info?? The citadel. And who does the citadel and Faith hate? Fuckin Maegor. So of course he’s not looked at as a anything but a monster. Great video
Maegor the Wise was the rightful and true heir of Aegon I the Conqueror, by Valyrian law the elder sister comes first and Aegon had to marry Visenya to inherit from their father, Lord Aerion. Rhaenys was his second wife, the woman on the side, and Visenya the true queen. But I fully believe Aenys and Maegor loved each other as brothers, the problem between them was Alyssa Velaryon because she knew Maegor was the rightful heir and she hated her brother-in-law for that fact. Alyssa would pass down her malice for Maegor to her and Aenys' sons to prevent them from forming any positive relationship.
Skipping a bit here. Aegon the Unthinking fool should have united with Maegor to crush the rebellious Faith Militant. His sister Rhaena told him not to fight their uncle, Maegor had just saved their entire family by rallying a Targaryen loyalist army to stand against the Faith Militant. So much could have turned out for the better, Prince Aegon would have been his uncle's heir rather than his infant daughter Aerea, Quicksilver would survive (at least until the Dance), Rhaena wouldn't become a black bride, thus Alyssa Velaryon would have no good reason to further divide the Houses Targaryen, Velaryon and Baratheon by starting another rebellion behind her 11 year old son Jaehaerys (abandoning the older Prince Viserys altogether. TWICE.) with Lord Rogar Baratheon.
With Maegor no Targaryen child would be given over as a hostage to Oldtown, Rhaella wouldn't have been given to the faith, and Aerea wouldn't have met the horrible fate she had under the rule of Jaehaerys.
That's why we used Viserys (Dany's brother) art for Aegon the Uncrowned and Alicent from the TV show to portray Alyssa
@@videobooks3 In recent months I've started seeing Alyssa Velaryon and Rogar Baratheon as the Greens, with Visenya and Maegor being the Blacks of their time.
@@Jacaerys4life Yeah that's a really interesting parallel, it's the same conflict just a different generation
If older sister comes first, Aegon wouldn’t be lord of dragonstone. Before Aegon, only men were lords of dragonstone. It’s so unlikely that they were all oldest children.
@@bensonfang1868 Yes the men are the lords but by Valyrian law and custom they are supposed to marry and continue the family line through the elder sister.
Maegor was a king that was needed. Hope we'll get to see this legend come to live-action ( He's one of my fav Targaryens )
And if that show does happen let's hope that the producers and directors not turn Maegor into a typical bad guy but it must be filled with alot of grey areas
@@SikhoGuwa That's the hope. I really hope we get to see him
He would have to be played by a huge dude. Maegor was The Mountain (well, almost) of his time.
I hope you'll appreciate Meager all the more when they film the scene of him torturing his teenage nephew to death, who was his squire, over the course of days.
Needed by whom?
One thing we should consider is that Maegor may not have been responsible for killing Viserys at all. The Faith could have done it and framed Maegor as a scapegoat. Keeping Viserys as a hostage prevents them from crowning Jaehaerys and let's remember that the only witness to the event besides Tyanna and Maegor was Owen Bush who was conveniently killed off before he could be properly questioned.
The thing is he wasn't killed outright, he was tortured to the death.
@@augustineirigoyen4400 Sounds like the work of the Faith Inquisition.
So Maegor left his body in the courtyard for 14 days because he realized he was being framed
@@augustineirigoyen4400 Based on whose word?
Everyone who was at the red keep
While I definitely think a lot of his cruel reputation was earned and deserved, it was also probably not entirely his fault. It seems pretty clear to have been a side effect of his magical resurrection and/or brain damage from the injury itself.
Regardless of how we feel about Maegor, I think we can all agree that the faith sucks
Yup. The Catholic Church pulled the same kinda stuff in history too. They had the power to excommunicate countries from trade and resources and a lot of Popes were basically emperors of Europe using religion
How?
@@verde629 the difference is that the catholic church lied about their temporal as well as spiritual authority (see the fake donation of constantin), whereas the authority of the high septon is legitimate, since Aegon himself converted, was anoited by him and recognize his divine authority. Maybe he should have read the holy books before doing so if he wanted to keep the old valyrian traditions in westeros.
I just called the Warrior's Sons on you
@@nirekin2760 rude lol
Seems pretty clear to me that the maesters were poisoning his wives when they were pregnant from the start. They knew they had to extinguish Maegor's line by any means necessary to get what they wanted.
Definitely possible
But how would the maesters get so many of the women to birth malformed dragon babies? Surely that's something inherent to the Targ blood itself?
Queen Tyanna admitted to poisoning them though. But maybe she was working with the maesters. Or just had her own motives
@@Thrawn23. She only admitted it when she was threatened with torture though. Some people will say anything to avoid torture, including confessing to whatever they're told to confess to.
Dragon babies are not the outcome of poisoning...many targs had dragon babies
He was the fist that kept the realm from all out revolt.
Aegon made the peace, Maegor kept it
@@videobooks3 just found your video and I agree it seems the overly ambitious verlaryon have a tendency to divide House Targaryen
@@videobooks3 revolt was justified. Why should the Lords of Westeros bow to a bunch of sister fucking, lizard people.
His reign LITERALLY ENDED WITH AN ALL OUT REVOLT!
Uhhh
I would like more debating from the maesters about the condition Maegor was in after the trial by seven. That seemed to really fuck him up mentally as well.
Yeah I really hope we find out more in TWOW through Ser Robert Strong what maybe potentially happened to Maegor
Viserys and Daemon are definitely the reincarnation of Aenys and Maegor.
I really appreciate how you implemented subtitles into the video with distinction between the script and book passages! And you perfectly credited all artists right on screen 👏
Honestly, House Targaryen wouldn’t have survived without Maegor. I’ve heard that House of the Dragon is going to be an anthology series. If so, they’ll undoubtedly do the Aegon the Conqueror story. I think Maegor will be a much more sympathetic character in the show. He’ll still be a badass and make morally gray choices, but I don’t think he’ll be the monster history makes him out to be
HBO are openly discussing doing an Aegon film now
I agree. Maegor would be an excellent "villain protagonist", especially if juxtaposed to Aenys' [HotD Viserys/GoT Ned]-like character, if they decided to go that route. HotD has mostly done a good job rendering certain characters who were clearly exaggerated by history, into more realistic interpretations, so I don't see why they wouldn't do that with Maegor. Especially if they go the Visenya dark magic route
@@videobooks3 a lot of people say they want Cavil to play Aegon, honestly I feel like he'd be a way better Maegor
Magor was loyal to his brother, but did not honor the succession set in place by his father. I think Visenya played a big part in Magor’s actions. If he would have honored the succession, he would be regarded as one of the greatest Targaryen knights.
Visenya literally said that the realm needed a strong king a warrior and her son was one. She went to pentos where maegor was in exile to call him back. Until she was alive maegor didn't fuck up, he followed her advice and was balanced despite being ruthless. After her death he started to lose control of himself. He lacked political strategy
@@maegorbalerion Maegor should have never usurped the crown. If you really look deep into his actions, he in sense is somewhat responsible for the Dance also. Magor killed two of his nephews which weakened the Targaryen line.
@@terrencedean4356 keep in mind that according to valyrian law Visenya was the elder sister, and the only one aegon was supposed to marry while rhaenys was a plus. According to westerosi law aenys was the heir, but according to valyrian law it wasn't so clear. Anyway as I said maegor was the hand of the king of his brother and even when he went to exile he followed his brother's orders. Visenya called him back, threw the challenge of the trial by seven to faith. As soon as aegon the conqueror was dead, visenya started saying to the lords that even aenys by giving blackfire to maegor, he recognized his weakeness and maegor as someone more ready to be king. Visenya celebrated maegors second marriage and supported his poligamy. I mean mother and son behaved like valyria n dragonlords in the end
@@maegorbalerion Again Aegon set the precedent and followed the Westerosi tradition and practice of father to son succession. If Aegon intended Maegor to be king then he would of changed the succession. Remember Aenys was 30 and Maegor was in his Twenties before Argon died. I mean Maegor didnt even give Aegon the uncrowned a chance to be king. Again he killed 2 male Targaryens whiched weakened the family line.
@@maegorbalerion and also even before the conquest the succession on Dragonstone always went from father to son
Maesters aemon: The Wall is yours jon snow. It must be you or no one.
Visenya: The kingdom is yours Maegor. It must be you or no one
However do you think they both failed because you need both ice and fire to rule and not get stabbed in the back 😂
@@videobooks3 I mean they're both second sons. That tends to bite you in back one wether they know it or not.
@@apacalypsagon3758 Oh yeah true haha
Maegor technically wasn't a second son, Aegon married Visenya to inherit dragonstone...so shouldn't Maegor be the heir and first son? Know he wasn't born first, but Visenya was technically queen right? He had two wives but can only have one king and one queen...my opinion anyway lol
@@SocietyofIdiocracy
Yeah that’s what I thought as well it should’ve been maegor as the heir as visenya was the first queen but aegon refused to change it. Many believed that rhaeyns son aeyns was actually a bastard by all rights.
Maegor did plenty wrong. He had the right ideas but also went about most of them the wrong way. There's a reason his rule was short, hated, and and ended in his death, but undeniably he DID take care of business here and there.
You need just the right amount of both Diplomatic skills and Martial action. Both have their own merits but Maegor was too far Martial, not enough patience or diplomacy.
Which is where Jaehaerys shined. He wasn't cruel like his uncle but, could also lay down the law and justice if need... he could stand a little blood if need be, unlike Viserys who came after him.
But if it weren't for maegor, jaehaerys and all his siblings would have been butchered in uprisings before he was even 10 years old.
@@whatisreddin7367
I know, my first paragraph admitted that yes, he made his choices and some had decent affect, BUT, he went too far in many case. He did some good, but plenty bad.
@@thalmoragent9344 It seems most of the Maegor apologists keep glossing over multiple factors:
1. They accuse the accounts of Maegor being a tyrant as "maester propaganda", but when it comes to those same accounts describing his brother Aenys as a weakling, they seem fine to accept that.
2. The torture and murder of young Viserys, Jahaerys' elder brother, who was just fifteen. Maegor had taken him as a squire and hostage in the Red Keep, and thus was completely at his mercy. But Maegor decided to torture his nephew for days until he died and leave his corpse in the courtyard. All these "Maegor Stans" all seem to be perfectly willing to gloss over this, even though the action literally offered no benefit to Maegor, as Jahaerys would only seek revenge after his brother's murder, and would only cement him as a monster and a kinslayer.
Jaharays was lucky Maegor destroyed 90% of the faith militant when he took the throne..
Lol, been playing a lot of Crusader Kings have you?
The old saying is...
"Just because you think everyone is out to get you, doesn't mean they aren't."
While his actions may have undoubtedly helped the Targaryen dynasty maintain the grip on Westeros to quell any future rebellion, for people here to call Maegor a good and moral person is just plain wrong. Good at martially ruling, yes, and he was correct to fight the Faith when they seeked to rebel and challenge his family, but also an abysmal and unstable individual, morally inept and unjustly to those who he murdered without explanation. He killed and beheaded many unjustly for no reason whatsoever. His madness and his sins did both good for the survival of his family but for many like the treatment of his wives, are just shitty. If it were in a different timeline and Aenys was more willed, Aenys would've had a fine martial general by his side.
Yeah that's the real tragedy, together Aenys and Maegor could have ruled spectacularly
Just because the Maesters give no reason for his actions doesn't mean Maegor did not have good, vailid reasons for what he did; at least in his mind. He was a warrior who had no cause of his own to champion any longer after his mother died. Without her, there was no one to be honest with him or anyone for him to love and say what you will but Maegor was driven by love. Love for his father, his mother, and his brother drove all he did. Aegon went uncrowned for a reason, he would've been the death of the Targaryen dynasty; not to say Maegor was a healthy minded, sane, and well adjusted individual. He was a monster, no one can deny that, but much like Vlad the Impaler was a monster, yet none could deny the results he achieved as a monster for the right reasons (Vlad, not Maegor).
You go through the Mad Targaryens and first go "Huh, only six? That's hardly the coin-flip Jaehaerys II talked about." Then you look at them and even amongst that number is suspect. Baelor was a zealous, but being stun by all those snakes probably had as much to do with what came later as anything else. Rhaegal was mentally handicapped. Aerion does fit the ticket, so does Aerys, and at least circumstantially Viserys III. Helaena saw visions and got depressed over her childrens death, not exactly malicious.
Maegor didn't even make the cut on the wiki page, and when you lay it all out he seems more in line with Daemon than Aerys. (For the most part, kind of lost what little inhibition he had later) So you have an exiled prince and one actual mad king in seventeen Targaryen Kings sitting the throne, and a exiled Prince driving himself mad with paranoia after. In three hundred years that's really not so bad. Other bloodlines have their nutters as well, like Tyrion the Tormenter.
Yeah we're planning to talk about that once we go through every Targaryen King and Queen
I disagree. I think you're only talking about Targaryen kings. Here's an excerpt from the book A Storm of Swords where Ser Barristan Selmy is talking to Daenerys before he pledges his sword to her. “I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys (the 2nd) once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air, and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.”
All the Targaryens are included in this quote, not just Kings. Since the Targaryens are a royal family, every Targaryen is qualified to be a part of this gamble. From the books, every Targaryen is blood of the dragon, but there are numerous Targaryens (both male & female) who have had some madness or cruelty or something about them, not just kings. This is conveyed a lot through Fire & Blood and highlighted a bit in the Dunk & Egg novellas (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms). If you are only talking kings, yes, you have a point, but it is for all Targaryens, and there are so many it's crazy. Thank the 7, many of them didn't get to rule.
@@rasonmyhand2956 but I don't think there's that many, through fire and blood how mane could you say that were genuinely crazy? Enough to be considered so by the people of westeros, only Maegor really comes to mind when thinking about being genuinely crazy.
We hear extensively about many many Targaryen characters and most of the are relatively normal for the standard of the world. Maybe Aemond-one-eyed could be considered a psycho, from the rest none come to mind that would be significantly worse than Tywin for example (who is not considered crazy in world). There might be 1-2 more that I'm not remembering, but they are definitely a minority
I would bet money that Aenys told Visenya on his death bed that she was right and that he should’ve never sent Maegor away. I would bet he told her to get Maegor and make things right and save his children. Maegor is never cruel to anyone who isn’t trying to fight him and Aenys children fight him at every step even though he was doing what needed to be done and what they were to weak to do. Yeah at the end he goes crazy but who wouldn’t when you’re trying to save your family and it’s your family trying to stop you. Had they actually talked to Maegor I’m almost 100% sure he would’ve named Aegon the uncrowned his heir unless he had a child and even then he seems like the type of guy to tell Aegon that if he died and his child was still too young then by all means take the thrown and keep our family safe. Especially if they are going off the prophecy from HOTD. If the Targaryens fall then so falls the world in their view and no one should take that chance even for the safety of your brothers stubborn kids. Should he have named himself regent/lord protector or even Hand instead of king probably but that blame falls on Visenya imo always whispering in his ear telling him he should be king but by the point Aegon the uncrowned gets a dragon it’s way too late to go back and it should’ve been obvious he wasn’t going to win against the black dread. It’s so sad when people’s lives could’ve been saved from just talking. Such a simple thing to do and still it doesn’t happen.
37:30 wow jonos slew his brother and stole his crown while Maegor avenged Ronnel and put down revolts against his brother. True case of two second sons and how they treat their lordly brothers
Real ones 💯
he killed his nephew and took his crown....
Maegor and Daemon Targaryen are both good examples of “no greater friend, no worse an enemy”
Aegon the uncrowned’s actions are very understandable though. Few sons of kings give up the throne to their uncles without a fight.
But can you tell me what his plan was for defeating Balerion and Vhagar?
@@videobooks3 dragons hadn’t fought one another in at least 100 years and probably more given that Valyria probably didn’t have a civil war right before the doom.
@@bensonfang1868 Okay, but can you tell me what his plan was for defeating Balerion and Vhagar?
yes all he saw was he wants his chair. he is the reason why the faith is in revolt and he uncle maegor is correcting it for him but he Is attacking his uncle! did he not realize that if he won the faith would still continue coming after him. he should have sided with maegor. as you said understandable, nobody would give that up but watch your position. your marriage is the reason your family at war with the faith. if you happen to defeat maegor in the field which no one has done, your next battle is with the faith after 3/4 of your fighting force is destroyed fighting maegor.
@@videobooks3 he doesn’t need to beat balerion and vhagar … he just needs to assassinate the riders
I'm 100% with you on this.
There's such an obvious bias in the book against Maegor. I can't help but feel the Sept and the Maesters are secretly married.
Yeah we reckon it's the maesters and house hightower, and the faith are just their tools
@@videobooks3 Yet, you are still willing to use those same accounts of the maesters describing Maegor's brother Aenys as a weakling king, even when claiming those same accounts saying Meager was a tyrant are biased.
It's almost like he murdered his own family or somthing.
yes we need more videos like that. George purposely wrote the books this way meaning the maesters and winners write stuff how they feel and who they like. I am pretty sure if they wrote this about maegor , jaeherys would have had it destroyed as he hated his uncle maegor with a passion. the mere mention of his name even In his old age by either his wife or his kids sent him mad. but when I read the books I was like wait a minute the maesters aren't saying this but this guy saved the kingdom and kept it in Targaryen possession. his brother king aenys, jaehery,s dad, retreated to dragon stone the island and left kings landing for the faith and he have dragons aka air power. so the faith was pretty much in control of westoros. so visenya went and got her son in exile and this guy came and brutalized them, breaking all modern day rules of engagement and burning churches from above with faith militant and civilians at prayer. then he took the fight to old town, which is Rome to the faith. said he was going to burn it down. when they saw the two biggest dragons in existence and the biggest the world had even scene meaning baelerion the black dread they open the city and didn't put up a fight and handed over the high septon their version of the pope. so just incase they are supporting them undercover maegor came for the head of the snake.
Still, enough witnesses and personal accounts in the books and shows seem to all have the consensus of Maegor being a monster. When everyone from the Faith, the Citadel, the surviving Targaryens, and most of the commoners and nobles are all condemning you, it Doesn’t matter if he resolved one crisis if he ended up sprouting three others.
@@nate742 that’s true.
Very good vid, I always thought Maegor was a victim of character assassination by the Maestors and yes house Targaryen would have died out had he stayed in pentos, since Rhaena was no warrior and she was besieged with her brother Aegon by the warrior sons and poor fellows, and Viserys was dragonless so when the faith took out the order siblings who had dragons, what’s to stop them from taking out Viserys and freeing themselves of the conquerors descendants
We think that was the plan, which is why Visenya needed Maegor so they could save House Targaryen
I definitely think it's greatly significant that Aenys essentially made Maegor his co-ruler (which IRL did happen - for example King Harthacnut made his half-brother Edward the Confessor his co-monarch) - but Maegor bore both the swords of House Targaryen. Essentially in symbolism - Maegor was a partner in rule, but in reality - he was the only one defending House Targaryen.
I think that also explains a lot of his later outrage at Aenys. Aenys promised Maegor he never had to kneel to him again - and yet Aenys rages that he never gave approval for Maegor's second marriage. I understand a lot of where Maegor was coming from in that regard.
Maegor is like tywin. He took command as joffreys rule was failing and temporarily restored some order. But that is looking at the characters objectively. Morally they are both evil characters who fight for their own preservation(if joffrey or aenys fell to their enemies, both tywin and maegor would have suffered and so self preservation )
Clearly you are correct.
Jaehaerys would never have gotten away with his doctrine of exceptionalism without maegor breaking the faith
I think Maegor is what happens when you put House Targaryen into a corner, mutually assured destruction, which is why they teamed up with Jaehaerys
@@videobooks3 True ,He would not have gotten away with his marriage to his sister so easily had the faith not been exhausted with war.
The doctrine of exceptionalism is a corruption of the true doctrine of the faith, of course it was necessary to mass murder the members of the faith to get them to abandon their sacred beliefs, and even when massacred true believers are not going to abandon what they believe to be the laws of god
Jaehaerys always kept violence as last resort but whether the faith liked it or not he would have married Alysanne
@@johnnyboy3410 Exactly he would have done exactly what maegor would do to pacify the faith.
I've just started watching - and I have to say, I'm delighted you've made this video. I think there is a lot to be said for re-evaluating Maegor - examining his relationship with his mother, his father and his brother - and coming at least to understanding him, if not necessarily endorsing a lot of what he did. Martin doesn't write a lot of unambiguous monsters - so I think it's only right we follow this train of thought. Definitely going to listen to the whole thing - and can't wait to get to the end for more discussion!
Cheers 😊
@@videobooks3 I'm also delighted you've touched on the power trinity of the Faith, the Citadel - and House Hightower. I think there is definitely an argument to be made that Maegor's marriage, the discontent of the faith, and the Maester's writing of Maegor's history was all part of a wider scheme to either domesticate or eliminate the Targaryens.
@@fitz7231 Yeah, we think so too
Every time I delve into another song of ice and fire lore vid I’m amazed at GRRM’s intense world building ability. This world has so much back ground
Well he based most of it off actual history which is why is feels both real and lived in
@@videobooks3 I know, but i can't imagine weaving that into a complex story and then having to remember all the details
@@jroygbivi absolutely agree, but to be fair he does make a few mistakes here and there. For example he clearly describes Renlys eye colour as blue, like Robert. But later says his eyes were green, when he wed margery
Often there's a comparison between Maegor and Joffrey. That couldn't be further from the truth. Joffrey was a spoiled sadistic brat with delusions of grandeur, but breaks when shit hits the fan. Where as Maegor, though rumoured to be sadistic, had the maturity and the sense of duty to the greater good, and had a remarkable clear-headedness when faced with immeasurable odds.
Maegor is everything Joffrey wanted to be.
Joffrey was a puppet who wanted to become king, Maegor was a King who refused to become a puppet.
Aegon could have multiple wives but Visenya was technically his queen. Maegor should have been heir, he probably would have fathered no children so his brother would have inherited, then Aegon, his son, and so on. So everything would have still technically stayed the same but maybe dance of dragons wouldn't have happened because Maegor ruling longer would have brought more stability to the realm. There would have been no faith uprising because they wouldn't have done $hit about Aegon marrying his sister with Maegor holding the throne lol
Exactly or after Aenys death his family needed to just work alongside Maegor the same way Aenys did at the start of his reign, and then when Maegor produced no children Aegon the Uncrowned and Rhaena could have inherited the throne
they wouldn't dare with maegor holding the throne
Sometimes you need a leader who will create enough fear in the realm to get things done without making them feel as if they have no alternative but rebel against you. Finding that perfect balance between fear and respect.
Maegor saved not just the Targaryen's but the realm
Maybe Maegor knew about the prophecy and how the realm needed to be united
@@videobooks3 I think that would explain his sheer confidence.
@@videobooks3 I trust the whims of kings more then religious zealots
Exactly he saw the faith for what they were, look at what they did to cersie after she armed them.
@@videobooks3 unless Maegor intentionally rallied the realm *against* him as a form of unity, than no, he was just a madman.
I literally put this on to fall asleep to and found myself sitting up in bed watching until the end! This was so good and I agree Maegor is a hero if nothing else! He did what needed to be done!💯
I would say that his unwillingness to follow the laws of succession were his only real failing based on this reading of his history. Yes, one could say only the strong should rule, but such a realm would be constantly under threat of a second son deciding they're more worthy of the throne than their elder brother. Such a realm would collapse. Maybe not immediately, but the constant uncertainty of who will be king would be unsustainable.
Had Maegor had heirs, or even just one heir, and that heir had assumed the throne, then the precedent would be set for a second son to usurp their elder brother's line and be considered legitimate. The realm would have collapsed eventually.
15:30 I don't think we can say that Rhea Royce was barren. Her marriage with Daemon was most likely arranged by Queen Alysanne, and I do not think she would knowingly marry her grandson to a barren woman. Plus Rhea was barely a teenager when the marriage was arranged, how could anyone tell if she was barren at that point?
The most likely reason why her and Daemon didn't have kids is simply because they disliked each other and never had sex. In fact, Daemon was either in King's Landing or in the Stepstones for the entirety of their marriage and there's no indication that Rhea ever left the Vale or was around him
Yeah that could be possible
While I mostly agree with the general idea of the video I believe part of the reason Rhaena expected for Maegor to send for her is that him and his mother previously wanted Aegon to marry him and Rhaena but were denied such opportunity so in his head he’d be just claiming his right to her hand since she’s the oldest Targaryen woman in their timeline and the match is only natural for the dragonlords that they are.
He got shafted so badly in so many ways. The worst is his marriage to ceryse hightower. They knew what they were doing, she was much older than him and unmarried meaning they must have known she was barren and not had her married off much earlier. The Faith, Maesters and Hightowers were out to get the Targaryens since DAY 1, they played the long game. Challenged to a trial of seven by zealots, fucking wins it despite having a rag-tag team, goes into a coma for a fucking month only to wake up and find out that the fucking zealots whose own game he won fairly still refused to surrender. Then People always say he usurped his nephews throne.... aegon never claimed it in the first place, he was trapped in Crakehall by the faith militant and only left once Maegor had scattered them to the wind. Then the first thing he does is run straight to kings landing to get dragons and try and fight his uncle who just saved his entire dynasty from being overthrown??? Is he stupid??? Then tries to fight fucking Balerion with basically an infant dragon in comparison. Then whoops, Visenya passes away at the worst possible time, the only good constant throughout his whole life gone without getting to say goodbye, leaving Tyana Thelis as the only person he really thinks he can trust. Then when the rest of his family still tries to go against him, he desperately tries to have a child of his own only to find out too late that his 3rd wife had been fucking him over this whole time by aborting all his other wifes kids and probably feeding him all sorts of lies over the years. Then when he finds out everyone else has betrayed him he just kills himself because theres nothing else left for him to do except kill the rest of his family which he obviously doesnt want to do (saving his dynasty was the whole fucking reason he took over in the first place LMAO)
facts brotha
Love your videos. You have a great voice for these kinds of video essays. Also, I like the background soundscape. It is much more ambient than the "where is my mind" loop
Glad you like the new background music!
love your passion dude. there is plenty of room for you in the fantasy side of literary analysis RUclips. it is insanely hard work keeping consistent posts. I'm gonna sub and like to support lol, already an audible member :)
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 😊
Maegor had no one around him he could trust, the Faith and the Hightowers should've been obliterated off the face of planetos. One of my favorite characters.
Maegor clearly suffered from ‘super male syndrome’, a genetic mutation that creates a extra Y chromosome. This mutation causes hyper aggression and infertility.
Except Maegor conceived multiple children. So most likely not infertile.
Is this statement a symptom of your chronic cowardice and jealousy that shreds your psyche on the daily?
@@adamantiiispencespence4012 true he just couldn't make a son
@@adamantiiispencespence4012 Something clearly happened to those women between the point of conception and birth that caused the death of those children. One or two could be seen as genetic defects from inbreeding (though it strangely only rarely affected the Targaryens), but all of them with so many women? Much like Aenys' sudden bad health, this was poison.
@@adamantiiispencespence4012 yes he conceived unborn and deformed babies. With some of his multiples wives but mostly of the mothers died during of shortly after chilbirth.
Having not done a ton of reading into this part of Targaryen history and not knowing how it goes. When I hear Maegor calling bannerman and only getting a bunch of houses I haven’t heard of before 😬 yeah I think I can see where this is headed for him… and why I didn’t hear about any of those houses while reading ASOIAF.
Those houses gave gone extinct throughout the centuries due to war, pestilence, and other factors. However, to read more about them, you should Fire & Blood. That is where all of this can be found.
Fantastic vid, very well presented, kept me entertained the whole vid and gave a different perspective on Maegor.
Yes. I've been thinking this since reading fire and blood. People seems to take the unreliable narrators word as gospel.
Yeah glad you agree ☺️
Okay, this should be fun. I’ve heard some Meagor arguments before and have not been convinced he wasn’t awful. I’m writing this message prior to watching the video. I’ll add an edit with additional thoughts after I’ve mulled things over some.
Looking forward to it 😅
This was splendid, and we'll needed Meagor is officially my favorite Tar
I hope one day they do a TV series on Maegor that does him justice
@@videobooks3 Most definitely He was A true Dragon 🐉
How much bloodshed and chaos from the Dance could've been avoided if Maegor and Visenya had destroyed the Hightowers and Setpons?
By the Deanerys time. The Night King would have chosen to stay up North and mind his business
Maegor wasn't cruel. A lot of people betrayed him and what disloyal people tend to do is slander who they betray because they think they're betrayal while be socially accepted. So what they do is betray, then talk bad about him, betray, then talk bad about him, betray then talk bad about them. Don't believe me, do a case study: watch tens video on RUclips of women who cheated talking about the husbands and boyfriends they betrayed and I guarantee you it will take you thirty more videos to find one woman who doesn't talk bad or fictionalize a demon about the person she betrayed. Do it. DO IT. It will jar your psyche and spin your world, when you witness so many case studies apply this strategy of fictionalizing badly the person they betrayed after they betrayed them. So basically malice on top of malice created the boogeyman story of Maegor the Cruel.
People who are good at being bad are bad in several steps of their schemes: e.g., step one, betray and then step two, lower the estimation irrelevant to the facts of the person you betrayed in the eyes of others. What that will do is make your betrayal less taboo because betrayal alone without that other Machiavellian step means you'll have a stigma over your head (justifiably so) as an unreliable person or someone you can't put faith in.
In house of the Dragon Rhea Royce saya that Daemon never consumated their marrige. So if she was barren maybe Daemon knew and refused to make the marrige valid.
That's a cool idea
Think you messed up on some words lol at 4:00 “the child’s king” was supposed to be “the kings child” lol
My bad 😂
Maegor was William II Rufus 1087-1100 and Jaehaerys I was Henry I Beauclerc. Stephen and Mathilda are Aegon II and Rhaenyra.
I personally like maegor and visenya I believe they get a bad name in history especially by the maestors. Yes maegor may have been sadistic we don’t know what truly could’ve happen to him but still.
After Aegon the conqueror Maegor is the best and most interesting Targaryen character. God i cant wait for the day we get a show about his arc.
I agree that Maegor saved his house, and did what needed to be done as far as dealing with the faith lunatics. But other than that, Maegor was not a good king, nor good man. He just did too many cruel and unspeakable, unforgettable, and unforgivable things, including to his own family, after taking power.
That's fair he was pretty horrible, especially to his own wives
@@videobooks3 Dude, your videos on GOT and HOTD are fucking AWESOME! I've been binge watching them for at least 2 or 3 weeks now! Keep em coming! I'm here for it!
Except he utterly failed to deal with the Faith militant. There were still armies of them across Westeros by the time he died.
This is an excellent video. Would be awesome for a series in this format on the other targ kings. Very nice to listen to at work when I can’t be playing agot on ck2.
Yeah we should have our Jaehaerys video out in 3-4 weeks, and we've already done Aegon if you're interested 😄
I think Maegor was essential in cementing Targaryen rule in Westeros for over two centuries. He put the fear of dragons in them. If Aegon was the conqueror, Maegor was the one who went through and triumphed over the trial by fire that most young dynasties crumble under.
Without Maegor, Jaehaerys reign would not have been so peaceful
I appreciate the effort you put into making these videos. Great work, your content is :D
Thanks 🙏
YES! I KNEW I WASN'T CRAZY!
Did I miss it or did you not credit the artist for the art on your thumbnail?
The thumbnail currently is: "MAEGOR’S THIRD WEDDING" by Andrey Pervukhin
Thanks
Aegon I told the faith that his marriage to his sisters was a reminiscence of old valyrian tradition but descendants would stop the incestuous marriages so they tolerated it and considering he had no daughter that was a easy to say and do ! Then aenys went over that and made his son and daughter marry each other causing the uprising of the faith
Sometimes what the world needs is not a hero but a monster and maegor made certain that westros would fear the house of the dragon
Wow here I am actually feeling sorry for Maegor! Great work!
You're forcing a lot to let him look not mad, when he was BAD since childhood just as Joffrey. He had some points of course. But the badass queen Rhaena knew
A great video. Thank you guys for explaining such a cool and well fleshed-out story.
Finally someone who gets it, if it wasn't for him the targaryen dynasty would be no more
Your voice and narration is great, I love you writing too but please change the layout and keep the concept, seeing the subtitles is sooo useful but the font is difficult to read and the colour doesn't contrast well with the background and the beautiful pictures are too small, but I love the music and you voice is so soothing and I love listening to you.
Some of the pictures we use are really low quality so to solve this we don't make the pictures too large, otherwise some of the art will look a lot worse than others and make for a jarring experience 😅
There may have been justifications for some of his actions, but no amount of rationalization can change the reality that Maegor was a vicious, tyrannical, greedy king. Saying that certain groups of people (like the Faith militant) had it coming and that just somehow makes everything okay is no different than condoning Hitler's or Stalin's or Mao's atrocities because, hey, they kept order. Men who crave power look back on the mistakes of their lives, pile them all together, and call it destiny.
Did you watch the video? Because like George we are critiquing the very notion of "kingship" and that Maegor was a horrible human being, but an A+ King because to be a great King is to destroy your enemies and produce an heir no matter the morality of how you go about doing either
@@videobooks3 I did, and I simply fundamentally reject that concept. You can't be a good leader while at the same time being a horrible human being. Given how Maegor's reign ended, with most of Westeros gathered against him, I think very few, if any, of his subjects would have agreed with this video.
@@videobooks3 Then by that logic maegor is a terrible king he had no heir. And by the time of his death was so surrounded by enemies that people believe he might’ve committed suicide. Aegon 1 and jahaerys are the examples of A+ kings
@@stormedcapone him not being able to produce an heir wasn't his fault, and it is sus how after Tyanna dies, the maesters and Jaehaerys move in to overthrow him before he can father an heir and give Vhagar to someone he trusts
@@elagabalusrex390 Kings aren't good leaders, they are people like Kim Jong-Il and Putin, who don't care about their people and live only to rule through oppression
interesting that a guy named Davos is recalling Orys Baratheon winning an important battle with onion imagery, really feels like it’s foreshadowing how stannis could die after taking winterfell from the boltons
Warning: Sorry for all the terrible grammer mistakes you are about to witness.
My own personal theory is that Aenys was Rhaeny's bastard. After her death and Visenya's lack of fertility, I believe Aegon named Aenys his heir. He was their only bloodkin at the time and sentimental. (I think This fits GRM's style. GRM loves to explore how selfless/bad decisions lead to worse outcomes and I think this fits the bill. One of the most common problems with royal polygamy is that it creates family crisis of who is entitled to what. It also fosters animosity because kids are in constant competition with each other. Chinese history is littered with child killing and family murder for this reason. Adding an extra layer of legitimacy questions only adds to this problem. Plus it was mentioned that Rhaeny's had a tendency to take other men to bed. So it's not out of the question. Plus I think it'd be ironic that every future generation claim to the Iron throne is that they are direct descendants of Aegon. Despite that not being the case. It's delicious drama. Anyways back to it....)
Angered and desperate I believe Visenya used magic to create Maegor (I don't think anything was wrong with Visenya but rather Aegon was infertile).
Visenya was no natural mother but I truly believe her and Maegor were abnormally close (like unhealthy level of close). Both blacksheep and both much more warrior then the rest of the family.
Now that there as was a true heir but Aegon refused to change succession. This is what caused the ultimate fracture between Visenya and Aegon. It is also what pushed her to become far more Machiavellian for the throne. Visenya was already wronged by Aegon multiple times dispite being arguably the most capable of the siblings. So with time she pushed her ambitions onto Maegor.
I don't know why either Maegor or Visenya acted against Aenys after Aegon but I have theories. My top one, love won out. As I do think there was some genuine care present there.
Maegor and Visenya both counseled and fought for him despite criticizing him openly and behind closed doors. They also never once acted against him during his reign. It was only after Aenys betrayal to faith did both Visenya and Maegor defy him. It is also reasonable to believe that is when all love was lost. As Maegor didn't return with Balerion. A move that probably could have saved his brother. Visenya continued to counsel but made no move to help. While I don't think it's out of the relm of possiblity, I don't think Visenya killed Aenys. Visenya is many things, but unlike her son , she never once show such ruthless toward her family.
After his death they saw no reason not to take the Throne. They saw the Iron throne as theirs by right, by strength, and by necessity at the time. People can say many things about Visenya and Maegor, but they can't deny that had they not ruled House Targaryen would be extinct, or at the very least overthrown with many casualties. Aegon "The Uncrowned" was a child who they obviously weren't close to and ultimately couldn't be relied upon.
Truly, I don't think Maegor would have made a bad king had his head wound not happened. He would have been Stannis on steroids and perhaps father to a child or two under the right circumstances, but not a terrible king. We really only see him get leaps worse after two events: his head wound and his mother's death (he kills Viserys 1 and becomes far more willing to hurt his family afterwards. If I'm correct then he blamed Alyssa for Visenya's murder or something???)
In the end his regin was a necessary evil for house Targaryen. One that ended in blazing success for future generations but tragedy for the Visenya's line and maybe Aegon's aswell.
(Addressing the bastard rumor. It' perfectly possible that Jaehaerys and Old Town collaborated to lessen these accusations in written history. They most likely inflated both Maegor and the Visenya's cruelty as well. It does say something though that despite all of this and the general enigma of the conquerors, that such serious accusations of bastardly were brought up though.)
Yeah it really fits that Visenya and Maegor did love Aenys, and had to become the monsters Aenys was unwilling to be
King Aenys and king viserys have so much in common. The incapability of making decision as a king. However when king aenys failed to bring the dawnfall of house targaryen, king viserys so good at doing this job. From this we learn being a good person doesn't make you a good king. PERIODT!!
A good king is a kind who use blood and fire
Everyone can be painted in a good light, even Ramsay Snow.
Ramsay is a bit harder to defend, I don't see how you can excuse his actions 😅
@@videobooks3 ruclips.net/video/eJptaHqta1Q/видео.html
You did it with Maegor didnt you?
Maegor was essentially like strong medicine. Very powerful, made changes with force that his brother couldn't do in his lifetime but his violence also reminded the people that the Targaryens are more devil than godlike people. The following king Jaehaerys was the best king who ruled Westeros because not only did he rule well for many decades but he was the one who truly united the six kingdoms right after his uncle's tyrannical reign. Maegor reminded Westeros that house Targaryen should be feared and Jaehaerys reminded them that they can also make things better. In the end, this succession of kings formed the bedrock for many years of Targaryen rule.
yea what Meagor did to Viserys can not be excused he had his own 15 year old nephew tortured for nine days and dumped his body in the courtyard that was beyond disturbing
Well we talk about how he changed after the brain damage, so yeah after that he was pure evil
Awesome to have this drop today! Thanks for your work.
Glad you liked it ☺️
He’s quite a character, Margor and Rhenys. The right and left hands of king Aegon the conquerer only missing each other’s wisdom to form a true whole.
It's really interesting it goes to show much power the Hightowers really have especially after watching HOTD in some way it's easy to believe that they're the real power in the reach and they pretty much can raise a second army in the faith.
If I'm not mistaken Rhaenyra didn't have a maester on dragon stone in the last episode because of the very possibility they could spy on her for the Hightower's.
Basically put it's not a wise idea to fuck around and make yourself an enemy of the Hightowers.
I've heard that all the terrible things he did was just maester propaganda
So it was nice that george included that
I fell asleep watching a different video and woke up to this 😭😭
😂
With daemon it was shown early that he was having trouble “finishing”. Hell knowing him he probably did not finds women descendent from valyria as worthy/attractive.
Daemon Targeryen *" If she ain't in the family tree, she ain't getting this seed😎"*
which makes no sense bc why would he frequent brothels if he couldn't get 'it' up? word would get around and it would be humiliating for him it was just a complete joke from the writers that clearly had a dislike for his character. It's also so funny that of all the character's from F&B they decided to make have issues with sex was the one who had sex the most.
When I read Fire and Blood and went through Maegor reign, I really did not fully understand why he was labelled as cruel, except for the end, where he was then fully known as manipulated by Tyanna the true vilain in all this, when his very objective was to get a son, but she trully fucked him up and so many other women, that he took desperately for wives... this is also true for House of the Dragons shows who portrays the black like the best Targaryen ever, when its not exactly portray like this in the book, where the green are actually better.
Raena and Haelena are alike as well in temperment
Great Job Man, congrats! 🇧🇷
Maegor was just a chad
Honestly, if Aegon the Uncrowned intended to stay in Westeros, he should have said "sure I'll come to King's Landing, if you make me hand and/or make me Prince/Lord of Dragonstone, permanently, to be inherited by my issue." I think Maegor would have agreed to that tbh. But yeah Aegon should have known when to give up on the crow
Yeah that’s what I think too he was cruel cuz he had to be cuz he coulda killed aeneys years before and made himself king but he didn’t which confused me
If you read the text closely, he was very similar to Stannis
I agree , Maegor was a necessary evil - and how evil? Truthfully; you’re right as he simply “shrugged” when heard his family ran to Driftmark. I do believe that he may have had something happen when he was in his coma and came out changed for the worse. That’s probably why his mother began to hate Tyanna in the end. She must of done some black magic on him as you don’t hear of any extraordinary evil tales prior to his coma. He wasn’t even as evil as Otto whose first step was to depose Rhaenaras entire family . Hopefully we’ll get some HBO series from around this time as well. If Aegon the uncrowned was actually crowned at the time; this would have definitely been the end of Targaryen rule.
Prior to his coma, Maegor hacked a horse to death that had kicked him. He also killed a stable boy who came to investigate.
How would the family have been ended if Aegon had been crowned? There’s nothing stopping Maegor form just supporting his nephew and crushing the Faith in his name.