Summerhall: the tragedy before Game of Thrones
The first 1000 people to use this link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/altshiftx05211
What happened at the mysterious tragedy of Summerhall? Did King Aegon V Targaryen (Egg) sacrifice people to hatch dragon eggs? Is Rhaegar the prince that was promised? Who is the ghost of High Heart?
Subscribe: / @altshiftx
Support on Patreon: / altshiftx
Twitter: / altshiftx
Dunk & Egg videos: • Dunk & Egg (A Knight o...
Bloodraven video: • Bloodraven: what’s the...
Blackfyre Rebellions video: • Blackfyre Rebellions: ...
Euron apocalypse video: • Euron Greyjoy's apocal...
Images and video from Game of Thrones used under fair use.
Images from The World of Ice and Fire used with permission from Random House.
Summerhall, Iron Throne art by Marc Simonetti: art.marcsimonetti.com/
Aegon V, Duncan, Jaehaerys, Daeron & Rhaegar art by Karla Ortiz: www.karlaortizart.com/
Daeron II, Aegon III, Baelor, Aerys I, Edric art by Amok: / amokanet
Map from The Lands of Ice and Fire
Summerhall photo: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Comic art of Maekar, Daeron the Drunken, Aerion, Egg, Daemon II etc by Mike S. Miller: / underdogmike
Black Betha Blackwood and Jenny of Oldstones art by Rae Lavergne: / i-am-a-lady-damn-it
Rhaella, Bloodraven, Shiera art by Bella Bergolts: www.deviantart.com/bellabergolts
Maelys art by Andréa Boloch: www.artstation.com/balduck
Asshai art by René Aigner: www.artstation.com/reneaigner
Dunk and Rhaella, Rhaegar harp art by NaomiMakesArt: / naomimakesart / naomimakesart
Dragonstone art by Ted Nasmith: www.tednasmith.com/
Ghost of High Heart art by Sanrixian: sanrixian.com/en/
Lyanna art by ImperfectSoul: www.deviantart.com/imperfectsoul
Doom of Valyria art by Sofia Golovanova: www.artstation.com/jdwis
Patchface, Marywn art by sprrow: www.deviantart.com/sprrow
Rhaegar vs Robert art by Justin Sweet: www.artstation.com/jsweet
Robb Red Wedding art by Zippo514: zippo514.deviantart.com/
Alys Karstark art by eluas: www.deviantart.com/eluas
Quaithe art by Lauren K. Cannon: navate.com/
Daario art by Borja Pindado: www.artstation.com/borjap
Ser Pounce art by andrewmar: www.artstation.com/andrewkmar
Dunk & Egg art by chillyravenart: www.deviantart.com/chillyrave...
Daenerys Drogon art by kittrose: www.deviantart.com/kittrose
Dragon flying art by Jordi Gonzalez Escamilla: www.artstation.com/jordi_gonz...
References & further reading:
JoeMagician on Egg seeing visions of Daenerys: • 🧙 Pyres and Blood: The...
Ripples in the Dreamscape by Bookshelfstud: / spoilers_twow_ripples_...
History of Westeros: • The Tragedy of Summerhall
History of Westeros The Shadow of Summerhall: • The Shadow of Summerha...
In Deep Geek on Bloodraven as perpetrator: • Video
In Deep Geek and Crowfood’s Daughter on ghost of High Heart and Summerhall, Aerys as perpetrator: • The Ghost of High Hear...
Westeros.org forums on Rhaegar as Summerhall dragon: asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php...
Westeros.org forums on Tywin Aerys perpetrators: asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php...
Special thanks to Patrons Cameron Weiss, Michael Appell, Ryan Steele, Triangle Wine Company, Harry, Shane Veglia, Ria McDoodle, Brian Sentient, Tim Cunniff, NotGac, Cara Heller.
0:00 Summerhall
0:53 King Egg
3:05 Dragons
4:18 Tragedy
5:48 Wildfire
7:30 Sacrifice
11:05 Prophecy
12:54 Dreams
17:05 Rhaegar
20:41 Conspiracies
24:04 Fire
#GameOfThrones #ASOIAF
Get a free trial of Skillshare Premium, and learn how to cook Eggs: skl.sh/altshiftx05211
egg.
Why won’t George finish Winds of Winter?
great vid, cant wait for the next asoiaf abridged episode tho
The Maesters did it 100%
@@kansasXcityXstealth Because people like you keep harassing him.
The Tragedy of Summerhall was just the gender reveal party for Rhaegar.
Summerhall was just a gender reveal gone awry...💀.😂😂
"People are so stupid" - Brock a.k.a. Moo, L2D4 Funny Moments - There Are Fall Guys Among Us, 2020
Prince Aerys: It's a boy! His entire fucking family: ☠👋
@@pucaboo1591 Egg: “Ow. I’m on fire. I’m in danger”
aww, burn!
I can understand why the Targs have an obsession with prophecy, it's how they survived the Doom. So it would make poetic sense if their reliance on dreams ultimately ended their line.
It would also make poetic sence is they survived and even thrived after one of them chooses to ignore the prophecies.
Too bad we will never know because GRR is never finishing this story.
Ironic how Targaryens are represented by dragons, but at Summerhall, most were wiped out by fire.
@@kevinfreitas6832 that's how almost all dragons die if you think about it, the Dance of Dragons saw fire fight fire & death was guaranteed. Basically similar to the birth of Rhaegar at Summerhall 🤷🏽♂️
Ngl, Targ sounds like an ignorant Westerosi slur for someone with Valyrian descent
"fire and blood" is literally the family slogan. It's the recipe to hatch dragons.
Fucking grrm, this is so on the nose..
Actually not just hatch dragon but also a recipe to cook good egg
@@faisalkamal4319 remind me not to eat breakfast at your house
@@roscojenkins7451 you come for breakfast you stay for the dragon eggs hatching ritual
@@faisalkamal4319 remind me to eat breakfast at your house because I need to see dragons hatching
The reveal that the Targaryans knew about the coming war between the dead and the living could help explain why Egg was so desperate to get dragons back into the world. He knew they'd be needed
The thing is George hasn't stated that it was passed from King to heir he only said that aegon the conqueror knew about it there's no mention of it being passed down to his heir
@@mustfly2608 Now we do know this is true, it's mentioned in HOTD
@@omegaRST HOTD and GOT are not book canon. That is a creative liberty not mentioned in the books. Also not something to seriously consider with the Summerhall story
@@steeljosh36 the shows are lore canon. GRRM said the books are written from the perspective of a Maestor writing about events while the show is really what happened
@@MylesKillis He never said anything of the sort: "We have two canons. We have the show canon, the Game of Thrones canon. And we have the Song of Ice and Fire canon," Martin said simply. "And in the book canon, obviously, still writing The Winds of Winter, I'm sure you all know that, and then there's another book beyond that. And as I write them, and I've said this in a previous blog post, I always knew that things were gonna be different, but as I'm writing, as the stories are coming alive, and the characters are coming alive, taking me further and further away from the show. So there's gonna be some very considerable differences, and the book canon is gonna be quite different from the show canon as we get deeper into it." They are two distinct versions
Poor Rhaella. She gave birth to Rhaegar during a tragedy and died giving birth to Daenerys during a storm
Not to mention the multiple miscarriages and lost infants. And the way Aerys treated her. Basically all we know about Rhaella is reduced to the context of her pregnancies, from prophesied pregnancy forcing her to marry her brother to Summerhall to her flight from King's Landing to her death on Dragonstone. Her entire life wrecked by others' expectation for her to bear children.
What storm?. I never heard of any storm.
@@harlekingyt7302 You never heard of Daenerys Stormborn?
And Viserys was presumably an easy birth but just the absolute worst.
@@gingerg85 irony really lol
In the books Daenerys rises from the fire with her hair burned away. Egg may have seen the bald Daenerys in a vision and mistaken her for himself as a young bald prince.
God I want to believe...
Lol
What about the boobs?
@@yetagain9736 smoke/dragons obscuring them, viewed from behind, unclear "visiony" imagery, plenty of reasons for Egg to miss the bewbs.
@@yetagain9736 censored
It seems incredible that the Targaryen dynasty lasted for another 125 years after the death of the last dragon
Yes Sir! Respect
If you think about it, is it really tho? All IRL royal lineages that lasted hundreds, if not thousands of years did so without any magic backing them up, just through power of tradition and good politics alone. It's not like the recently crowned Charles III had to ride a fucking unicorn into Balmoral to lay claim to his mum's throne
@@1v966 😂😂😂
@@1v966 The difference is that the Targaryen ruled all of westeros while other royal houses like the Starks only rule the north.
@@canyou7670 my brother in Christ, I was talking about IRL royalty. You know that Martin aint made all that feudalism shit up from his head right?
I can so imagine Dunk carrying the princess to safety to give birth outside the burning castle, then turning around and saying, "I may be back, I may not. Either way, His Majesty is getting a clout in the ear." Then he dives back into the flames to slap Egg silly one last time.
Don't make me cry 😭
I can imagine that haha
Just started reading dunk and egg, love this comment so much
@@Milkra I made it so long ago that it was like reading someone else's. Thank you. I'm very proud of it, myself!😁
Damn man that strikes deep. I really fell in love with dunk and egg.
“Or maybe it was Daario disguised as Ser Pounce with a book of matches and a can of gasoline.” Best theory ever.
D&D be like.
Ser Pounce, that son of a gun, at it again
And still weren't found out
That’s better writing than season 8
Reminds me of that meme with the car carried by a firefighter "T'WAS I WHO SET HOUSE ABLAZE!"
The tale of Dunk & Egg really makes the tragedy of Summerhall even harsher since we grew to know and like Dunk and Egg personally instead of seeing them as historical figures.
Dunk & Egg would make a great prequel along with House🏠 of the dragon🔥🐉🐲🐉🔥
@@QueenDaenerysTargaryen I think they’re actually working on Dunk and Egg
@@raymond-reviews They should do a 13 episode series on The First Blackfyre Rebellion to set the stage for Dunk and Egg
@@gfilmer7150 Yep that would be Great
@@gfilmer7150 I’m down for all the Blackfyre rebellions to get adaptations
Oh I actually think Jenny survived. I think Jenny's song is about her going mad with grief. "Jenny would dance with her ghosts." It almost implies she refused to leave the crumbled and burnt ruins where her husband died until she passed away herself perhaps or malnourishment. That or she died because she wouldnt leave her already dead husband's corpse in the fire. Either way I think the song Jenny of oldstones gives her character just a bit more lore
The song always gives me chills.
Gotta say the reveal in HotD that ASOIaF is a Targaryen oral tradition really adds a lot to the motivation of a lot of these “mad kings” each one crumbling under the weight of this apocalypse that may fall on their shoulders. It took a Targaryen who was not aware of the burden to succeed in the end too. So good.
Not so sure you can call it a "reveal" so much as an "artistic liberty"
@@biggrocc19 Yeah its not really book canon. At least not yet.
i'm thinking Aegon's secret may die with Rhaenyra during the events of HotD, or perhaps afterwards slowly along with the dragons (depending on who she tells, who they tell, etc.) after a civil war, it very well may be lost or not believed at some point. all it would take is one Targaryen down the line to scoff at it like it's a fairytale or to die without passing it on to someone. then it is entirely reliant on someone holding the Valyrian dagger in the flames AND interpreting the prophecy correctly (which we see is not reliable in this great video).
@@steeljosh36 Except it kinda is.
There's no such thing,the prophecy is known thoughout the entire world and almost every culture has his own "Azor Ahai". Show canon is different than Book canon
God seeing Egg go from a good little squire to a ruthless king willing to kill his children would be such a horrifying arc to read.
Idk about ruthless; id assume the one hypothetical dark spot in his life would be killing his children in this scenario. He wouldn't be seen as Aerys after him
Idk sounds pretty damn grrm to me
Just like Daenerys'
None of us will ever be able to read it Unless of course George is somehow immortal
@@Roberto-rn8uy an immortal skinchanger
I really like how Alt Shift X doesn’t just propose wild theories, he also shows what would make sense from a story perspective
I think Sir Pounce with a can of gasoline most likely based on the evidence, but you have a point
@@zenebean fair point
And whenever he proposes a wacky theory, he's self aware & shuts it down with evidence
@@timtheguy2179 I do like that. He will often discuss various theories proposed by the fans, and then go into why some of them are unlikely for logistical or story-telling reasons. See the whole "Euron = Daario" video.
This is illustrated perfectly in his Knight of the Laughing Tree video when he says "but in the end, it was probably just Lyanna".
Aside from frustrating his plans, Egg's kids really made sure that the Targaryens were very isolated from alliances. The only familial connection they did have, Rhaelle birthing Steffon Baratheon and her grandkids being cousins to Rhaegar, Viserys, and Dany, ended up siding against them in the war. Had all the betrothals gone through, the realm would have been much more stable and much more Targaryen-aligned. Rhaegar probably could have overthrown his dad easier.
He was trying to ally the north with the South he met lyyana learned of Lord starks southerns ambitions and was going to ask his permission to marry llyana but shit got fucked up
@@marcusgibson5314 He never met Lyanna before the tournament. He fell in "love" after catching her as the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Rhaegar attended the Tournament at Harrenhall because he wanted to gather support alongst the lords against his father but Varys found out and insisted that Aerys attend.
@@phrophetsamgames what you said doesn't contradict what I've said
To be fair keeping the bloodline in one part of the family meant there was no more rebellious branches But unless your taking the Ottoman path and killing all non inheriting sons, you kinda have few options.
The only problem with this thought is the simple fact that the logic of "keeping the bloodline pure" has, for the most part, "some logic" Hear me out: often since marriages are arranged, one doesn't always know if said family is TRULY worthy of said marriage, u hear all these situations irl of nobles & royals marrying for money/power, and they totally abuse said power/coin, even civil war between dynasties Maintaining the wealth/power within one's own "trusted family" is a smart move, with its own VARIOUS obvious problems The Targaryens would have been screwed either way. The "dance of the dragons 🐉" showed how pretty much ANYONE with the "blood of the dragon" is gonna put SOME stake in the thrown, while I DO acknowledge that an alliance with the Tully, baratheon, and tyrell wpuld have been beneficial, it also gives those houses CLAIMS, which could "possibly" start a new "dance'' House aryn, for example, had a targ princess, she died, her daughter died, hell even those OF house aryn died
I'm into GoT but only superficially. It's very funny to know that Robert was technically the nephew of the guy he was trying to overthrow and, thus, was Daenerys' first cousin, who was trying to kill her.
That's why he got the crown and not Ned or Jon Arryan. He had the better claim because of that targ bloodline.
@@bkilg2509 Well, Robert got the crown because it was Robert's Rebellion. He was the one that started it, and he was the one who killed Rhaegar, so no matter what, he would probably end up on the thrown. It's actually stated in the books that his Targaryen blood was really just the superficial justification for why he got the crown.
second cousin.
@@romanspiwak Jon Arryn started the rebellion
@@romanspiwak Yes he would've but then he would've faced the same problem as House Tyrell does. He'll be seen as a usurper.
"Chaos... Chaos is a ladder." "Your family tree is a ladder!"
I feel this comment
Zeus’ family tree be like:
@@RaptrRamblings 宁 宁 宁
@@zhihuangxu6551 The second funniest thing about this is that the Chinese Word means Calm and Zeus be like “Oh I can bone whoever I please.” and be chill with it. But in reality-chaos.
Cooking Eggs with fire? You’re a monster!🤣
crack in the egg, the time is right, crack in the egg, crack in my pipe
HowtoBasic what to know your location
you gotta crack a few targaryens to fulfill a prophecy
"cooking eggs with fire? Was he making breakfast?" -Renly Baratheon, probably
😂😂😂
The fire at Summerhall actually started in the kitchen when some bread was left in the oven too long. There is substantial evidence that points to the cook responsible being Hot Pie's grandfather.
much like the Great Fire of London. where in blame sir pounce on that too...
They really should have seen the fire coming, Hot Pie’s grandfather being a horse and all…
The idea of a land where people have visions that come from different points in time, and always misinterpreting them is so tragic.
Can't believe Ser Pounce really committed regicide and killed a generation of Targaryens just so his boi Tommen could be King.
A great gift requires great sacrifice.
Lmfao isn’t that the cat
@@ElDuderinoh He's Azor Ahai and you *will* respect him as such
Who knows what he did to become a Ser? Do we really know some Maester didn't change him into a cat?
@@ElDuderinoh The Pounce that was Promised!
I never knew before now that the main Baratheon brothers were so closely related to the Targaryen royal line. It's weird to think Bobby B and Dany share a great-grandfather and despite being decades apart in age are technically in the same generation of this family tree.
This was literally mentioned as Robert's claim to the throne (obviously it was conquest, but it did help that he had Targaryen lineage)
It’s the inevitability of such an inbred family line
@@AllTheArtsy a strange thougt that hé hates Targaryens!
@@barthoekstra6760 he hates Rhaegar and projects the hate to the whole family...
@@otto_jk i know but the Baratheons are related to Them!
The idea that Egg went off his rocker and was intending to sacrifice Rhaella and Rhaegar and was thwarted by Dunk is damn cold but I can see that being a storyline because Egg mad with power in a moment of weakness abandons all decency in his quest for power and Dunk betrays him, only to return to his side and die with him in flames as penance for being unable (morally) to protect his king.
Would be one of the best stories with a great ending that’s for sure
It is said that Rhaegar used to visit the Ghost of Highheart and sing her "Jenny of Oldstones" whilst she wept. He used to visit Summerhall often and was obsessed with the prophecy of Azor Ahai too. He too had dreams and visions of dragons and thought dragons and Azor Ahai were linked so this makes sense.
0:34 The rest of Westeros? The Resteros?
This deserves so much more likes
I love you you beautiful man
Thats probably what the North and Riverlands allience would have been called if the Red Wedding didn't happen.
the only way to say "rest of westeros"
ba dum tss
I like the idea that Ser Duncan the tall chose to save Rhaella and Rhaegar first and then still went back in to try and save egg, and dying together.
I agree. Although the theory where Egg goes mad (like his grandson) and does some f***d up things which lead to his own death by Dunk also makes sense (surely, after Dunk saves Rhaella and Rhaegar).
I think Dunk stabbed Egg like Jaime killed the mad king but didn't kill him just incapacitated Egg. I think Egg was going to sacrifice Rhaella and Rhaegar to hatch dragons but Dunk stopped him then things went to shit. What if everyone else was trying to help Egg achieve it except for the Maester. That's why he saved Rhaella and the Maester survived. Then he went back to die with him cause a Kings guard isn't supposed to outlive their king. I think Dunk was with Egg and the sand trap killed the both of them like in Dunk's dream in the Sworn sword novel. I think Dunk was there with Egg to the end to save his soul but couldn't his life. But a dragon was born. Rhaegar
A feast for crows is my favourite book of all time partially for the “prophecy will bite your prick off every time” line, and just for the absolutely beautiful character/world building.
I think its the weakest in the series, still great though
It’s easily the weakest, least interesting for me and felt like mostly filler but opinions and that
Really? Well, while I find it the weakest, that's awesome you find it the best. And there are some excellent ideas and stories in AFFC but I dunno, ADWD fulfilled my hunger for the Northern story and Stannis Baratheon which AFFC did not
It was boring, only thing memorable was the King’s moot
The difference between Aegon's Summerhall and Dany's Pyre for Drogo could easily be that Dany didn't do it trying to make a prophecy come true. Doesn't that sound more like a prophecy coming true, than it did when someone tried to jam all the pieces into the puzzle?
It may not have been prophecy but she did dream about it It's not in the show I believe but in the books Dany dreamed of her dragons hatching from the fire. That's why she steps into the pyre and why she tells Jorah that she'll be fine. I think the line is something like "Dany thinks to herself, I will be fine because I have seen it before" She sees herself cradling three dragons after having survived burning. So whilst it was foretold by a woods witch, it was somewhat prophesied I don't think it was because Dany didn't try to make it happen and therefore it worked (because she did try) I think the magic/gods of the world deemed that would be the time and place for dragons to be reborn. Just how our boy described it in the video
@@cameronfield4617the red comet probably has something to do with it too I think the dragons could only be born while the comet was at the sky
@@DanyelAzamor-lh7yg @DanyelAzamor-lh7yg its a nice idea but this can't be true. Just because that during the time of many dragons (ie the times before the dance of the dragons) dragons were being born all the time and there is no mention of a red comet. I think the red comet is a significant magical sign of dragons coming back into the world. But it can't be that a comet needs to be there for dragons to be born in general. Because eggs were put in the basket of targaryan kids and they bonded woth the kid when the egg hatched. This happened so often I think a comet coming out of no where multiple times in the year might raise a couple of eyes
@@cameronfield4617 No, Im not saying that there needs to be a comet for a dragon to be born. What I meant was that in order for the dragons to return to the world, it must have been under the red comet. Otherwise, any blood sacrifice would have returned the dragons (I find it hard that 125 years of targaryen never tried something like that, I actually think that was what Egg was trying to do, and it failed because there was no comet)
@@DanyelAzamor-lh7yg @DanyelAzamor-lh7yg It's possible, it could all very well be true. But I am not convinced the comet is the secret sauce to dragon rebirth The Targaryans haven't tried blood sacrifices that we know of yet. I am sure it is likely they did but we have no confirmed cases of blood sacrifice, dragon egg hatching attempts. It is POSSIBLE that Egg was trying that at summerhall but it isn't confirmed yet, we just know that he attempted to hatch some eggs and he couldn't do it and then the castle burned down. Bevause historically the Targaryans didn't need blood sacrifices so it is also possible that none of them thought blood sacrifices were needed Personally I think prophecy are bigger themes in the story than mechanics. We know Dany knew she would survive bevause she saw a prophecy of her surviving being burned alive and her dragon eggs hatching. That implies to me that it was ordained by the gods or some higher being that dragons need to return to the world now, magic is returning and they picked Dany and her dragons to be the vanguard of this return. That fits more closely with the themes of the story regarding prophecy, characters are either seeking it or avoiding it but the story doesn't have much of this + this = this. I purely think the comet is nothing but symbolism, I dont think it is anything special. Its just meant to highlight to the reader how it has many different interpretations. Maybe it is a sign from the gods that magic is returning with the birth of dragons, here is a comet to signify this. I liken it to the green light at the end of Daisy's Dock from the Great Gatsby rather than something more significant But that's just me, I don't have any direct evidence to contradict this. The comet just reads to me as more symbolic than a requirement for the return of dragons
I think it's absolutely fantastic how well built the world of A Song of Ice and Fire is. I mean, we can literally have thousands of hours of discussion about a world and stories made up by one old guy's head. And the story isn't bad, it's good and well written and can be worked through dozens of times without becoming uninteresting. That's prlly also the reason for why Winds of Winter is taking forever. Worth it tho ngl.
Yeah ive seen alot of people saying "oh if George had written 1 word a day and its as long as Dance hed be done by now" While sure, he is obviously taking his sweeeet ass time, imagine just making yourself clear on all the minute, interconnected details of this extremely complex and rich world Like writing is probably the easy part
Copium
@@janakipejov3667 oh man im inhaling so much you have no idea
I mean yes but it's all based on English history and other things anyway. But it is well written
@@RK-ep8qy It's inspired by that, but the grand cast of various characters and their long history still is mostly original.
i like your theory about Dunk and Egg having a confrontation at summerhall: Dunk: you cant kill innocents Egg: I need dragons! Dunk: you were supposed to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness Egg: wait, what? Dunk: what?
😆
" I hate Sand! "
@@richarddavies5674 “We had a fine time in Dorne!”
*You were the chosen one!*
Dunk: "It's over Egg, I have the high ground,!" Egg: "Said no knight ever!" Dunk: "Oh Be One" Egg: "Gaslighting really? Am I Over-Easy?" Dunk: "These aren't the droids your looking for." Egg: "I hate you!"
So many small tragedies interwoven with the lore of this series. I feel like nobody really talks about the adorably sad story of Duncan Targaryen, the king's heir, rejecting his claim to the Iron Throne to follow his heart and marry the eccentric common girl he truly loved, only for them to both tragically perish in a fire caused by his own father, who was desperately trying to save the Kingdom from falling apart.
"Only death can pay for life" and "Only a King's blood can wake the stone dragon" combined with the examples we got from the books makes me think that only people of royal bloodlines might carry the magic necessary to conduct a successful dragon-waking sacrificial ceremony. Trueborn or bastard, it doesn't seem to matter so long as they have the right bloodline
-Growing up among the common folk -Learning from a humble knight -Dreamed of being a Knight and defending the innocents as a child -Growing bitter from the politics, war and rebellion -Desiring peace, freedom, justice and security for his citizens -Grows convinced that absolute military authority and power is necessary -Destroying everything in one big event that killed everyone -Paving the way for a mad tyrant to take over -His descendent rebelled against the mad tyrant with a rebellion . . . Egg sounds an awful lot like Anakin "murder the youglings" Skywalker
I hate to be sitting here defending the final death throe actions of Anakin Skywalker... But the younglings had to die. They were too old to undo the indoctrination, not old enough to understand what was happening and what had to happen, and too well trained to not be a problem later. They could not be trusted.
damn! good eye!!
Well, with enough mental gymnastics, he does.
He was still fighting for the smallfolk in the end though. Anakin stopped caring about ordinary citizens.
@@mpt3245 True, he wanted dragons so he can pass these laws without the noble houses rebelling against him. He didn't want military power for his own benefit, but because otherwise the nobles would rebel and start some shitty war again where the smallfolk have to fight it out for them. But with dragons, no noble would risk themselves.
I really like the idea that Egg saw Daenerys hatching dragon eggs but thought it all applied to himself
He probably thought bald Daenerys was himself.
@@mistonklelees or maybe he thought it was Rhaella
This is what a world of ice and fire implies happened . But if I’m being honestly we will never actually find out bc ggrm will never finish the last Duncan book .
@@kevinmendoza1255 he wont finish anything
I think the reason the Wild Fire went out of control was because the dragons actually hatched. According to the alchemist, Wild Fire is more potent when dragons exist.
But then again fire cannot kill dragons and if they did hatchet what happened to them? I don't think he said that Summerhall fell, just burned. Maybe if there was sand, then the dragons got buried.
@@betsyromero5248 the dragons got buried prolly. Dang thats sad
@@bloodraven6 im sure u had nothing to do with it bloodraven
@@betsyromero5248 fire (from other dragons atleast) can definitely hurt if not kill dragons, during the dance, moondancer was blinded by sunfyre's flames
@@jdftrains3507 Then maybe they can only be killed by fire from another dragon, not any type of fire other than that
George seems to have a cycle with the Targaryen history, every time they repopulate the family he brutally kills them all off again. -Rhaenys gives birth to Aenys -Rhaenys soon after gets killed leaving only 3 targs alive -Aenys has a couple kids -Maegor kills almost half of them -Jaehaerys has a ton of kids -Jaehaerys outlives almost all his kids (if not all can’t really remember) -Family grows from J’s grandkids -Dance of Dragons wipes out almost the entire family -Survivors have some kids -Daeron I, Baelor and Viserys die rapidly -Aegon IV kicks it into overload with having kids -Blackfyre rebellions -Breakspear killed -Great Sickness wipes a ton of people -Blackfyres start to simmer out, Egg repopulates the family pretty well. -Summerhall -Aerys becomes king -Roberts Rebellion leaves a handful left and all either are in exile or on the wall.
"Ontological incestmaxxing."
That's how you make unpredictable story.
@@newkingscontent8533 If Jon and Dany mary then the family might repopulate again
Yeah, but it's probably also pragmatic. I imagine George was realizing how complicated the Family Tree was getting and thought "I've got to kill off a lot of Targaryens"
@@akmonra George is great at explaining lores with logical explanation
Based on the lyrics, I always assumed Jenny survived the fire and wasted away at Summerhall in her grief
Yeah, I thought that's why Rhaegar went to Summerhall, to visit Jenny
I assumed the same! I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one 😊
I like this theory
I think this is the truth. A story in my head is that Jenny never wanted to leave the ruins of Summerhall, and she stayed there until her death, dancing with the Ghosts. Rhaegar visited her frequently and inspired by her story wrote the song Jenny of Oldstones. This song, Rhaegar performed at the tournament in Harrenhall and made Lyana Stark cry. The rest is history!
Oh... uh... I always assumed the song implied Jenny couldn't deal with the loss at Summerhall and committed suicide there...
I like how Alt Shift X still uses the illustration of Rhaegar instead of the actor who played him on the show because he was hard on the eyes.
I thought they did a great job casting him
Honestly wish they just cast brad pitt as rhaegar and just told him to look like he did when he played Achilles in Troy lbs; wouldve been perfect
We also only have profile shots of him
@@sobversion3 too old now maybe
Thats Facts he is UGLY in the show they could have had anyone hotter or prettier.
GRRM: All this prophecy and intermingling plots that are downright impossible to read correctly to determine who will rid the world of the Walkers D&D: Nah bro, just have Arya teleport and stick a guy with a dagger lmao
I really like the latter theory of Dunk having to kill Egg in that last scenario inside Summerhall. It just fits with GRRM's themes of tragic bittersweet endings. It was never about black and white with GRRM, just like life he wanted to reflect a lot of grey in his story telling.
If Egg hadn’t misinterpreted the prophecy and burned it all down (in theory), then the Daenerys story line never would have happened like that. So ultimately his misunderstanding was key to Daenerys’ dragons.
It's the idea of a deterministic future No matter what the characters decide to do,the way things go is already determined/decided by the hands of fate (in this case the author) Egg was fated to cause the summerhall incident so that things play out the way they did (by giving him future visions to misinterpret)
@@mohamedelhediissa289 I think it's less deterministic than it is just a cycle - the characters ultimately choose to follow or not follow the visions, I think part of the point is that if people stopped listening to their dreams they could end up much happier people.
That's kind of how prophecies always work, isn't it?
But if she hadn’t hatched her dragons, the night king never would have gotten a dragon to break the wall? If we believe that the show storyline is true(ish)
@@HopeMcfadden In the books, there was a magic horn that could break the magic of The Wall (or tame dragons?). I don't remember, read it years ago. And IIRC Victarion Greyjoy somehow tamed a dragon or went on a quest to do so. There's A LOT more important characters in the books and it gets so complicated, that probably GRRM couldn't untangle it all to make sense so we probably won't have the last two books : P The show merged some characters together and simplified some storylines. Changed some important events too.
Huh, I used to think the tragedy that started Game of Thrones was David Benioff and Dan Weiss having dinner with George R.R. Martin... Then I saw this video and realized how wrong I was!
D&D were really really good at adapting the game of thrones books. The early seasons of the show was maybe the best thing on tv at the time. But then they caught up with the books and....yea haha it was horrible. It's the same problem anime has alot. look at full metal alchemist they had to redo the whole show haha. Idk I know the later seasons sucked but it's hard to make up your own stuff in the middle of someone else's story and it's hard for me to hate them
...then I rewatch the white walker episode and I am filled with pure hate lmfao 😂
@@noaboahQR don’t forget the early seasons up until 3 George was still involved with the show
@@noaboahQR They didn’t caught up. They fucking cherry pick the hell out the books and that’s how they ended up running out of source materials. Even when George tried to give them clues on where to go, D&D completely ignored his advice because by that time they didn’t want to do GoT anymore and where ready to jump ship to Disney. Well karma claps hard and Disney dropped them soon after the failure of season 8.
@@KhanMann66 I mean cherry picking was probably for the best. George was planning to do a Time skip but then didn't so all those younger characters stayed younger and honestly it's my least favorite part of the books. Also some stuff in the books really wouldn't have worked well on the big screen. I think the early seasons were absolutely amazing adaptations. As for the ending even George r Martin said in an interview that his book ending won't be that different from the shows so I mean they clearly took his advice. I wouldn't be surprised if after the hate George rewrote a fuck ton of his story adding to the delay. Either way all I meant was it's hard to hate them for trying to continue Georges story and failing
“You were my brother Aegon! I loved you...”
"A cheeky bit of regicide to kick their lifelong alliance." This one made me laugh out loud ngl.
They kinda succeeded if you really wanna stretch it, Rhaegar being born this way caused him to be obsessed with prophecy which caused Robert's rebellion, which led to Dany's exile and led to her hatching dragons
self fulfilling-prophecy
Pretty sure Jenny didn't die, it's where the song comes from, her going back to the hall where they all died.
I believe the "halls of the kings who are gone" is referencing Oldstones, the ruined ancient seat of House Mudd, who were kings in the Riverlands. Then again, it was probably written after Summerhall and the context of her tragedy seems to extend before and after her time at Oldstones.
There’s a theory that rhaegar wrote Jenny of Oldstones, and it’s basically about her mourning the death of her Husband and Family, some also believe that that was the song that made everyone cry at a tourney (can’t remember which one)
I know I am absolutely in the minority, but I think Jenny has a much bigger part to play in the story. I think jenny was under the control of the children and was trying to influence the royal family. I believe something happens at summerhall and Jenny starts the fire, or acts in away that would have killed everyone there, ending the Targ line. If it weren't for the efforts of Ser Duncan the tall.
@@henryray1537 It as at the Great Tourney at Harrenhal, 'where the Prince played a song so sad that it made the wolf maid cry' (Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark).
And they never tell us if Jenny Old Stones had children with Prince Duncan!!.
I think that blood is needed only for resurrection of petrified dragon eggs. That's why targaryens never had problems with hatching them in firepits, those were fresh, living eggs. Dany's, and Aegon's eggs were petrified, dead.
So this video is awesome, thanks for all the work that went into it. My theory on Summerhall is that Aegon had a vision that drove him to want to use the pyromancers to sacrifice Rhaegar in a fire while he was still in the womb. Dunk saves them and the rest is history until 40 odd years later when Daenerys awakens the dragons with a fire, some magic and her unborn baby as sacrifice. Basically Aegon's vision on how to awaken the dragons was correct but he had the wrong generation of Targaryens.
but if Aegon did successfully sacrifice Rhaegar then Rhaella would be rendered infertile like Daenerys was; so Aerys wouldn't have been able to have more children by her.
@@kushagraagrawal7292 I am only referring to Aegon wanting to reawaken dragons, not fulfill tpwwp necessarily.
I can totally see Dunc killing Egg to save Rhaella and willingly walk back into the fire to atone for murdering his king and friend...
Well, Rheagar did stick his „Sword“ into Lyanna, killing her and „forging“ Jon Snow
Omfg
😆
That's actually what I thought too no joke at all...a good old phalic metaphore, very accurate for ASOIAF and GRRM in general
Does that mean Azor Ahai fucked a lion?
@@theletterm5425 or a lion(ess)
I really like the idea that Dunk stopped Aegon from making a terrible sacrifice. That would be a really powerful juxtaposition to no one stoping Aerys from burning all the people he killed. It would even set up a parallel between Dunk and Jamie, who stooped Aerys from burning the whole city down
I just feel so bad for Aegon :c He was a normal guy and a decent fellow, but then his kids got crazy (I supossed his parenting didn't help) and when he indulged in some valyrian craziness himself he almost got them all killed
The idea that King Aegon did it on purpose is a brilliant bit of speculation. Would love to see a short 3 part TV series just on this tragedy.
D and d will do it in a 1.5 part series.
That confrontation between Dunk and Egg in the middle of the burning palace would be like Obi wan fight Anakin on the lava planet
@@gfilmer7150 Can't wait to read Dunk telling Egg he has the high ground
@@generalgrievous92 Same. But to be honest, that battle would break my heart.
@@mattaomartinez.9817 they kinda forgot there was fire
That is possibly the greatest closing line of any piece of media ever Well played ser
Agreed, it caught me off guard and I def had a good laugh 😅
I'm now showing just this line to my Friends who don't know anything about GoT.
@@GlacialScion a flawless introduction if ever there was one
it's gender reveal parties that are more often known for explosives, but i thought it was funny. Unlike that auntie into horoscope joke.
I'm glad I read your comment and sticked around until the end. You have my thanks
"Summerhall" looks suspiciously similar to Moritzburg Castle. For those who don't know, Moritzburg Castle is in the town of the same name, Moritzburg, which is in the vicinity of Dresden, and Dresden is a city in Germany.
My grandpa dropped bombs on dresden.
@@ANSELAbitsxb bruh lol
7:59 to add to this, two deaths (Drogo and Mirri Maz duur) pay for two dragons. But Dany walks into the fire herself, perhaps ready to die. This would give the third and final life despite Dany not dying. Ofc GRRM wouldnt kill off dany right there and she survives, but perhaps this could also mean that willingness to sacrifice yourself has certain power as well.
Drogo was already dead, can that count as a sacrifice? And if the answer is yes, then how about baby Rhaego, he could be the 3rd sacrifice, after all he did die as a sacrifice to save his father.
@@braveandblessed9279 Maybe Viserys, Drogo and Rhaego were the sacrifices to wake the dragons from stone, Mirri's burning only maked the hatching!
@@PedroLucas-mg5je viserys was dead way before the dragons were born
@@braveandblessed9279 I don't think one sacrifice is good for two miracles? That hole shebang is a "special event", GRRM said I think. Dany('s skin) is untouched by fire here, but she can get burned later in the story But don't forget the horse! 🤣 that's a life
GRRM did comment in a behind the scenes that the Valyriqns had found out with their magic that it wasn't a recipe that made it work, but on who you are, what you want and how much faith you had
"Two kings to wake the dragon. The father first and then the son, so both die kings."
SPOT ON!
oof
What
@@Crinjal_2611 melisandre's dudes during adwd when they plan to burn mance and his newborn son
Double homicide
Rheagar as Azor Ahai while Jon and Dany are Lightbringer and Lyanna as Nyssa Nyssa is a theory Ive never thought about, but its so smart in a typical GRRM way - giving the whole setup for the story a even deeper meaning, by making the Azor Ahai an already dead person
That has always made the most sense to me. Or at least Rhaegar is azor ahai, Lyanna Nyssa Nyssa and Jon is Lightbringer... Lyanna being killed at childbirth is a close enough connection to the metaphor of being stabbed = sex/conception... it literally says he "thrusted" the sword... weird verbage for stabbing.
Boy have I got down the rabbit hole of game of thrones lores and I love it.
If House of the Dragon is going to continue beyond the Dance, I think this tragedy plus a time jump to Robert's Rebellion is the perfect final season for the show. It would tie back with what we learned at the beginning of the series with Viserys obsession about Aegon's and his own dreams and the prophecy, and it gives us the perfect set-up for Aerys and Rhaegar and everything that ensues because of the Mad King and Rhaegar's plans. It kind of ends the series off perfectly leading into Game of Thrones. Egg's ambitions, the Mad King's tyranny, and the rebellion is the final time the House of the Dragon tore itself apart with ambitions gone awry and with a terrible king.
HOTD will definitely be four seasons. I think Robert’s Rebellion from the very beginning should be two seasons but also it’s own show.
@@leomartinez9828 Agreed. Each need their own show
Nah if anything it would be better to focus on the Blackfyre rebellions next
The amount of mystery that surrounds summer hall and the deaths of Dunc and Egg actually makes me excited for the Dunc and Egg show. Unlike house of the dragon where we know the ending pretty much without any surprises at least this series had a lot of potential for new surprises
too bad GRRM will probably never publish a new Dunk and Egg book.
@@filipe2444 I think you mean too bad GRRM will probably never publish another ASOIF book
@@ZombieMaster420 both really. but if he publishes any I hope it's TWOW
Too bad the end result is still hot garbage. Unless they reboot the whole GoT series I don’t care.
@@KhanMann66 Got show* the books are still great.
I like how part of the theory is Aegon being so disappointed and angry with his kids he straight up tries to burn them to death.
Great video. I loved how you went through all the prophesies. You did a great job sharing this information.
I wish you could make more videos about so many dark and mysterious ancient places like Asshai, The Shadow Lands, Stygai, The Heart of Winter, Valyria, Sothoryos, Ulthos, The Five Forts, The Great Empire of the Dawn, The Empire of Yi-Ti...
He covers most of these places in his video explaining the East
And to think, if Egg's children married who they were suppose to marry, House Targaryen would still be ruling Westeros, longer at least
That would've been quite interesting to see. If that was the case then Duncan Targaryen and the baratheon girl would've been King and Queen which would've been quite interesting to see. Though a certain someone in a tree wouldn't be too keen on all of this
@@marwanali4878 who would that be?
@@brandonhargun4512 The name of the Baratheon girl was never told only that she was a daughter of Lyonel Baratheon and the person in the tree was bloodraven
@@brandonhargun4512 BloodRaven, of course!
Okay, that little Homer Simpson clip reinforces in me that you are just one of the greatest KZheadrs of all time
Rhaegar Targaryen is the night king Littlefinger is a faceless man Davos will be king in the end
@@kingrobertbaratheonofhouse6190 HotPie is Lyanna Stark in disguise and Dunk the Lunk is still alive now calling himself Ser Gregor Clegane
@@kingrobertbaratheonofhouse6190 Ned stark is Quaithe
so simple yet so effective
Great Video! Dunk has giant's blood. I think Blood Raven was skin-changing him all along [all Dunk's missing time in the Dunk & Egg stories]. I think he took control of Dunk and instigated the tragedy at Summerhall, probably with a single kick of the pyre.
thank you for doing these, the story, the illustrations and quotes and everything that went into this has more quality than s8
“And when the cops came through, me and Pounce stood next to a burnt down house. With a can full of gas and a hand full of matches, and still weren’t found out. So from here on out, it’s the Chronic II.” - Eminem, or Egg, or something.
Highlight of my day easily (not the fire, your video)
That's what they all say.
Hope you’re doing well man!
Never thought you were an ASOIAF fan
@@thewolfmanhulk2927 i am a diehard alt shift x fan. i think ive been here since the start!!!!
@@Haedox nice, seen you on breaking bad and better call Saul too, you have got amazing taste
This would make a great series or movie either or it needs to happen
hell yeah a 6 episode mini series or something about dunc and egg ending in the tragedy of summerhall
Your videos are amazing! I could (and sometimes do) listen to your voice all afternoon ❤️
If summerhall didn't happen the entire trajectory of the rest of the GoT universe in Westeros would be completely different Alongside the dance of Dragons its the most significant event during the reign if the Targaryens
There are multiple events that may have changed history if they have happened in other way. Like, what if Aegon IV have never legitimized his bastards, none of the Blackfyre rebelions would have ever existed.
@@gerardolopez6851 the blaclfyre rebellions are nowhere near as significant as 90% of the Targaryen dynasty being wiped out over night The dance of dragons eliminated 50% over a couple of years
@@Blackhawk211 You're totally right. But now we have a Blackfyre trying to conquer the Iron Throne against the last Targaryen in the ASOIAF world. This may cause the extinction of Targaryens. All I say is that everything in this story has consequences. Big or little.
@@gerardolopez6851 there is no confirmation that Griff is a blackfyre The mummers dragon could be referring to him as a blackfyre i.e he us a fake Targaryen but it could also be referring to him as a real Targaryen being used by the mummer (Varys)
@@Blackhawk211 The Dance of the Dragons is a much more significant event than Summerhall. This is why: First off, it happened much longer ago. The more time that has passed since an event, the more significant it becomes, because overtime the consequences will be magnified. For example, if you go back in time and kill your father as a baby, you and your siblings will not exist. But if you instead go back in time and kill your grandfather as a baby, now your uncles and aunts and cousins will not exist either. But to my main point: The Dance of the Dragons was technically started by Aegon II and the Greens, not Rhaenyra. Viserys I had named Rhaenyra his heir. So if the Dance of the Dragons had never happened, Rhaenyra would have sat the Iron Throne, and one of her children with Laenor Velaryon would probably have followed her. One could argue that if The Dance of the Dragons never happened, then Aegon V would not have been King (nor even existed probably), and so Summerhall wouldn't have happened, and Robert's Rebellion wouldn't have happened, making it automatically more significant than any of those events by themselves (including Summerhall).
12:27 "Just like your auntie who's like just a bit too into astrology, King Egg's family were heavily influenced by prophecies and dreams of the future." ...Probably should avoid going to any family barbecues with her in the future then.
Or bringing her to a baby shower 27:36
Family: wanna bbq with family? OP: I don' wan i'
@@mtlacunae8659 This is true
Excellent job breaking down the pedigree information so perfectly! And you made is super interesting, as well. Great video, I'm getting ready to do some re-reading, or even starting a new book in this universe, so I appreciate the video!
Last time I was this early we were still mourning the show’s ending
Aren’t we still doing so ?
@@horizon_universe9349 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
@@horizon_universe9349 We still are 😔
Bleh! I refuse to acknowledge that trash.
*the show’s murder
Season 8 may have dissapointed many, but Alt Shift X never does.
This makes a looot more sense if Egg found out about Aegons asoiaf prophecy, and knew they'd need dragons to defeat the white walkers. He was all about helping the small folk, so what would a guy like that do to protect them from what he found out was coming? Something desperate, I'd imagine
I feel like they succeeded in hatching an egg at Summerhall, but it was deformed and crazy (which happens) and it went crazy with it's fire and died with everyone else.
I've never heard the idea that Quaithe wears a mask to cover her scars. I like that.
LOL just remembered that they included Quaithe in the show. Glad they tied up that story line so neatly
This channel is single-handedly keeping my interest alive in this series
Oooo my man! Been a while since I've heard your Game of Thrones analyses full of humor and intelligence, I've missed you man! Welcome back!!
Could The mad king had scenes of his past playing in his head when he died? And he kept saying “burn them all burn them all” just like perhaps his grandfather was going at summer hall? Possibly trying to “burn them all” as Duncan perhaps saved Rhaegar (and his mother) from his family being used as sacrifices ?
OOOOH!! THATS A GOOD ONE!
Burn them all… burn em ol…. uremhall… Harenhall
equally likely that bran actually caused the madness in first place but yea
Dunk being the one to kill Egg would have even more layers considering Dunk's relation to Brienne. Since we know that Brienne descends from Dunk, Dunk killing Egg would make Brienne the blood of a Kingslayer/Oathbreaker. If the story does go this way, I feel like it would add depth to Jamie and Brienne's relationship. It would underscore the hypocrisy that Jamie experiences with the honor and oaths in Westerosi culture.
The song Jenny of Oldstones implies that she survived but never got over the deaths, and would return often.
Best ASOIAF KZheadr there is. Slick graphics and charts help, but it moves a bit fast, sometimes. Love what you do.
Dunk trying to save Egg from himself.... kind of rings of Obi-Wan vs Anakin on Mustafar.
*John Williams soundtrack intensifies*
On the off chance that you will see this, I just wanted to thank your for creating such concise and satisfying videos. Your breakdowns cover all the bases, and never leave me wondering. Thanks!
I love your videos! They keep my love for this series alive after I was traumatized by Season 8 of Game of Thrones, the “Summerhall” of the TV series.
I’d love to watch a video about the war brewing in Essos during Dance of Dragons. There are a lot of references to it during Tyrion and Daenerys’s chapters, but we never really get a real explanation. With your repute, I think you’d do a great job going in depth on the topic.
I think this is the first time I heard that Jon and Daenerys are Lightbringer and not Azor Ahai. It’s an interesting theory to think about.
@Kelvin Higgs 😂
Jon Snow "killing" Lyanna in childbirth Is like Azor Ahai killing his wife with lightbringer
Even though HBO’s GoT ending was a disaster, I’m actually excited for House of the Dragon... I’m not ashamed. I miss ASOIAF content. Anybody else?
I want to be excited, but it's hard cause I've been hurt before 😢
HBO should hire AltShift and make sure the direction is good so we don't get anymore season 5-8's
@@abcdefghij7772 that's a good call
@@abcdefghij7772 Season 5 and 6 are still acceptable, season 7 and 8 are hot garbage fanfic level lol
I just cannot, at all, picture Egg murdering people to raise dragons. Sacrificing himself? Probably, but not anyone else. It would be completely out of character for him, and at the very least, Duncan wouldn't let him murder an innocent.
best video in the channel. so satisfying. thanks for sharing.
It would be a shame if Egg, much like Ned, couldn't find pragmatic solutions to fulfil his ideals and would ultimately die when he betrays those ideals in a last desperate attempt to combat all the enemies he's unwittingly created.
I personally love and support Joe magician’s theory. However, I always thought it would be really interesting if what ever egg did actually did work, and a dragon hatched. And right after is when the terrible accident occurred, and whatever method was used got out of control killing everyone including the dragon. Or something like that. I have no proof of this, just think it would be an interesting twist on things if what ever they did actually worked.
Omg Alt Shift X uploaded a video about Summerhall I will enjoy this so much
I would love to know more about Dunk and Eggs relationship after Egg becomes king. Just the tragedy of Egg becoming more consumed with dragons and prophecy infont of Dunk would be heartbreakingly good stuff xx