Baelor Targaryen’s Death in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Officially Sets Up the Mad King, Robert Baratheon & Daenerys Targaryen

Baelor Targaryen’s death is the most tragic event in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and one that has major consequences for Game of Thrones. The prince was one of the truly good and honorable Targaryens, and as heir to the Iron Throne, promised to be a great king for the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Unfortunately, a mace to the back of the skull, delivered by his own brother, Maekar, changes all of that, and with it the future – including the one we see in Thrones. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for the futures of main characters from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Maekar killing Baelor begets a complicated succession path for the Targaryens. With him dead, his eldest son, Valarr, becomes heir instead. However, within just a few months of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1’s timeline, he, his brother Matarys, and King Daeron II himself all die from what’s known as the Great Spring Sickness. Because of that, Daeron’s second-oldest son, Aerys (not the Mad King) becomes ruler. He himself had multiple different heirs who died, and so was ultimately succeeded by… Maekar, whose accidental murder of his brother ultimately led him to the Iron Throne.

Even from there, though, things aren’t straightforward. Maekar’s two oldest sons, Daeron and Aerion, both die before he does, and the third, Aemon, is a Maester, so cannot inherit the throne. That means, against all odds, it passes to the fourth son of a fourth son: King Aegon V Targaryen, aka Egg. It’s from his line that the royal family continues through to the Targaryens we know in Game of Thrones, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Baelor’s death.

How Baelor Dying Leads To The Mad King, Daenerys, & Even Robert Baratheon

Without Baelor dying, it’s likely there wouldn’t have been a Mad King, and indeed the Targaryen dynasty may not have ended, or at least not at the same point. Aerys II Targaryen was a direct descendent of Egg: in the books, he’s his grandson; in the TV show, which cut a generation out, he’s actually his son. So for as cute and likable as Egg is in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he fathers one of the cruelest, maddest kings in Westeros history.

That, of course, then leads directly to Daenerys Targaryen. She’s the Mad King’s daughter, and thus the great-granddaughter of Egg if we follow the lineage from the books, and simply his granddaughter if we go by the family tree of the show. Jon Snow, who is the son of Dany’s brother Rhaegar, is Aegon V’s great-great grandson based on A Song of Ice and Fire, and great-grandson using Game of Thrones as a guide.

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Perhaps the most interesting of all though in his complicated family tree is Robert Baratheon. The man who led the rebellion against the Iron Throne was actually related to the Mad King, and to Egg. His grandmother was Rhaelle Targaryen, the youngest daughter of King Aegon V. Robert’s Targaryen blood was part of his claim to the Iron Throne following the rebellion – while it was more to do with him leading a resounding victory, and crushing Rhaegar on the Trident, the Maesters backed him at least in part because of his lineage. And, again, there’s a strong chance none of this happens without Baelor’s death, meaning Game of Thrones history would be completely different.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Season 1 finale releases Sunday, February 22nd at 10 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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