10 Years Later, Aegon's Conquest Can Finally Fix Game Of Thrones' Ending
Like many longtime Game of Thrones fans, I remember just how hyped people were heading into HBO’s final season. At the time, despite the show’s later seasons making some questionable story and character arc decisions, most of us were confident the finale would deliver on the series’ various promises established over the years.
The Night King would finally reveal the true purpose of the White Walkers, and the war against the dead would justify eight seasons of build-up. Jon Snow’s Targaryen heritage seemed certain to change everything, while Daenerys’ pursuit of the Iron Throne promised a reckoning that had been years in the making. Even Bran’s mysterious connection to Westeros’ past seemed destined for an extraordinary payoff.
Instead, the White Walkers were wiped out in a single battle and the Night King and Jon didn’t even duel, Jon’s parentage meant diddly-squat, and Daenerys’ downfall felt painfully rushed. But worst of all, the final episodes left some of the show’s biggest questions unanswered, particularly those surrounding the ancient threat beyond the Wall.
Fortunately, there’s still an opportunity to revisit those abandoned storylines, as the Game of Thrones movie could draw from a pivotal chapter of George R.R. Martin’s history of Westeros and finally give one of the show’s most disappointing storylines the payoff it deserved.
Aegon’s Conquest Can Finally Fix Game Of Thrones’ Finale
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Credit: HBO via MovieStillsDB
Although Aegon’s Conquest takes place nearly 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the upcoming movie has an opportunity to address one of the original show’s biggest disappointments: the rushed conclusion to the White Walkers’ storyline and the Long Night.
George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood chronicles Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros alongside his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, and their three dragons. Together, they bring six of the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule, with major events including the burning of Harrenhal, the Field of Fire, and the surrender of Torrhen Stark, the King in the North, who famously bends the knee rather than face Aegon’s dragons.
However, House of the Dragon introduces an important revelation about Aegon’s motivations. As Viserys explains to Rhaenyra, Aegon experienced a prophetic dream foretelling the arrival of a terrible darkness from the North. He believed Westeros needed to be united under a Targaryen ruler to survive the inevitable catastrophe, which is true push behind the conquest, despite the fact it looks like a ruthless power grab.
George R.R. Martin Confirms Aegon Is A Dreamer, And That Changes Everything
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Of course, there’s debate over what’s considered “canon” across the A Song of Ice and Fire universe between the books and on-screen adaptations, especially considering how dramatically Game of Thrones departed from Martin’s original story.
Interestingly, while this prophecy isn’t explicitly mentioned in Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon‘s Ryan Condal confirmed that the idea originated with Martin himself, with Martin stating that Aegon was in fact “a dreamer.” As readers well know, this has massive implications for the larger canon, and it’s possible that Aegon could’ve experienced visions of what’s to come, similar to the flashes seen in House of the Dragon.
While that doesn’t necessarily establish the prophecy as confirmed book canon, it suggests there’s much more to Aegon’s motivations than readers have been told so far. It also means Aegon’s Conquest has a unique opportunity to expand on the original story, particularly when it comes to Aegon’s relationship with the North. Exploring his prophetic visions, his understanding of the White Walkers, and potentially even his interactions with the Starks could establish a much stronger connection between the Conqueror’s ambitions and the events of Game of Thrones.
Obviously, the movie can’t change how the Night King was ultimately defeated, or undo the disappointing resolution to the Long Night in HBO’s Game of Thrones. However, by expanding on Martin’s established history and revealing more about the prophecy that inspired Aegon’s conquest, it could restore some of the significance to a storyline that deserved a much more satisfying conclusion.
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