Game of ThronescutA Song of Ice and Fire’s biggest Targaryen twist (so far) when it didn’t include Young Griff, aka Aegon Targaryen, but it was the right choice for the series. George R.R. Martin’s books are full of characters and plot lines that didn’t factor into the HBO TV show and, of course, his novels were infamously overtaken en route toGame of Thrones' ending.All of these deviations had a ripple effect, including the choice not to include Aegon.
In the books, it’s revealed that Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar, is still alive when Tyrion sails on a ship with him inA Dance with Dragons.InGame of Thrones, this story doesn’t happen and Aegon/Young Griff is never introduced, and the entire storyline is pretty much cut. That may have been a disappointment for some book readers but, given where the show was headed (and what theupcomingGame of Thronesspinoffsare doing), I think it was a smart choice.
A Song Of Ice & Fire’s Aegon Targaryen Twist Explained
The First Son Of Rhaegar Targaryen Is Still Alive (Maybe)
BothGame of ThronesandA Song of Ice and Firetell the same initial story about Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and his first wife, Elia Martell. At the end of Robert’s Rebellion, following Jaime Lannister slayingthe Mad King, Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane entered King’s Landing and killed Aegon, his sister Rhaenys, and their mother.That’s whereThronesends things, butA Dance with Dragonsadds a new twist to the story.
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As Tyrion sails for Volantis alongside Young Griff and his ostensible father, Griff, it’s revealed they are actually Aegon Targaryen and Jon Connington (a close friend of Rhaegar, one-time Hand of the King to Aerys II, and an exile from Westeros). The story goes that Varys paid for an infant from a tanner of King’s Landing in exchange for wine, and swapped the babies before Gregor got his hands on Aegon.After the death, Varys smuggled the real Aegon across the Narrow Sea, where he was raised by Illyrio Mopatis and then Jon Connington.
There are doubts about whether Young Griff is really Aegon Targaryen, and theories he’s perhaps a Blackfyre pretender…
Heading intoThe Winds of Winter,Aegon has his eyes on the Iron Throne. He’s landed in Westeros, and has the sellsword group the Golden Company at his back. He’s been raised to be the perfect prince, and hopes to become the perfect Targaryen king, too. However, there are doubts about whetherYoung Griff is really Aegon Targaryen, and theories he’s perhaps a Blackfyre pretender (a thought-extinct house that was a branch of House Targaryen). Real or fake, he’ll be an important part of the story, but wasn’t needed forGame of Thrones.
Why Game Of Thrones Was Right To Cut Aegon Targaryen/Young Griff
Young Griff Would’ve Been Too Big A Distraction
The very fact that Aegon could well be fake (dubbed fAegon as the theories go) shows whyGame of Throneswas right to cut him. It’s not impossible George R.R. Martin himself revealed this already to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss when mapping out the future to them, which could have influenced their decision to cut him.Even if that didn’t happen, uncertainty over his true identity would make it harder to include him in the showand do it justice, because it could feel like a waste of time across a few hours of TV, rather than hundreds of book pages.
[Aegon is] a relatively late-in-the-day plot twist, coming in the fifth of Martin’s planned seven novels, and while there’ll be a serious impact from him, he’s unlikely to be someone around at the end of the show.
Even in the books,Young Griff feels like a bit of a distraction. He’s a relatively late-in-the-day plot twist, coming in the fifth of Martin’s planned seven novels, and while there’ll be a serious impact from him, he’s unlikely to be someone around at the end of the show. That’s fine for the books and something Martin could do very well, but also reflects how, even at this point, the books have continuously been expanding. ForGame of Thrones, it would have been harder to successfully do that twist, for various reasons:
This is a surprise reveal that a character is still alive, and while it’s technically not someone coming back from the dead,it could reduce the impact of something like Jon Snow’s resurrection. If not, it would certainly risk harming the impact ofJon Snow’s Targaryen parentage, since the reveal of him being called Aegon Targaryen and being the secret son of Rhaegar Targaryen wouldn’t be as unique if there had already beenanotherAegon Targaryen who is the secretly still-alive son of Rhaegar Targaryen in the story (which adds more fuel to the idea Young Griff is a fake).
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Ultimately, while I am interested in where Martin takes the Aegon/Young Griff story, I just don’t see a way it realistically works on a TV show.It’s a lot easier in a book where there’s no real limit to pages, characters, or imagination, and where we can get inside the heads of characters to understand things a lot better. There are parts of this story that I love, too - Arianne Martell is one of my favorite book characters missing from the show, and is about to become wrapped-up in it - but I think including it would’ve hurt the show more than cutting it did.
Game Of Thrones' Spinoffs Include A LOT Of Aegon Targaryens
It Risks Making Young Griff Even More Confusing
Warning: This section contains mild spoilers for The Tales of Dunk & Egg, the books on which A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based.Young Griff, or Aegon Targaryen, inGame of Throneswould’ve caused confusion anyway, but he would also make looking at the broader franchise more difficult too.It’s an old complaint that too many characters have the same or similar names, and nothing exemplifies that like Aegon. AlthoughGame of Thrones’ Jon Snow spinoff isn’t happening- meaning there’s one less Aegon Targaryen in the mix - the franchise’s future is still full of characters carrying that name to an almost absurd degree. Based on what HBO has planned, then there’ll be at least four Aegons with important roles going forward.
House of the Dragon
Jake and Rory Heard
TBC
Aegon’s Conquest
Two of those we’ve already met: King Aegon II Targaryen, and his cousin, Aegon the Younger (son of Rhaenyra and Daemon).Aegon II is well-established inHouse of the Dragon, but will continue to have a major role going forward. The other, meanwhile, should take on greater prominence as things progress, meaning more potential for confusion.
House of the Dragonseason 3 is expected to release in 2026 on HBO. Season 4, meanwhile, will be the show’s last.
BeforeHouse of the Dragonreturns, there’ll be another Aegon, appearing inA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Based on George R.R. Martin’sThe Tales of Dunk & Eggseries, it follows a hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (aka Dunk), and his squire, Egg. Except…Egg is actually the boy who will become King Aegon V Targaryen. Because of the show’s timeline and place in history, it will also likely need to make viewers familia with King Aegon IV Targaryen too, as his decisions to have consequences that last down to the story, though he won’t appear on-screen.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdomswill release on HBO in 2025 - an exact date has not been confirmed.
If all that weren’t enough,HBO is also developing an Aegon the Conqueror spinoffwithThe Batmanco-writer Mattson Tomlin, though it has not been ordered to series (yet).Your favorite Aegon’s favorite Aegon, he’s the one who started all of this in the first place, after whom multiple subsequent Targaryen kings have been named, and that could be a major show for the network.
Add inGame of Thronesrevealing Jon Snow is also named Aegon Targaryen, and I’m left feeling like there surely isn’t enough room left for Young Griff to factor in.It’s bad enough trying to get audiences to distinguish between Rhaenyra, Rhaena, and Rhaenys(another of whom will be introduced in the Conquest show), let alone 5-6 characters with the exact same name, most of them kings, several of them having the same crown and/or sword, in the span of three or four shows. It’s a lot, and just makes me more convinced cutting Young Griff was the right call.
Game Of Thrones
Cast
Based on George R. R. Martin’s ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. It follows noble families like the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryen vying for control of the Iron Throne while a rising threat from the undead looms in the North. The series received significant critical success and amassed a loyal fan base due to its high production values, sprawling sets, iconic characters, and shocking twists.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
