Of the several points without a plausible explanation in Game of Thrones, one that we will ask ourselves again in the second season of House of the Dragon, when we meet the Starks again, is very simple: why didn’t Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen admit that they loved each other and that they got married? They certainly wouldn’t be popular; they would cause conflicts with the Stark, Baratheon, and Martell houses, but perhaps fewer innocents would die because of both of them. What’s more, they might not have hastened the end of the Targaryen Dynasty. And all because of the Prophecy of Ice and Fire, apparently.

The eldest brother of Daenerys and Viserys II Targaryen, Rhaegar was the firstborn of Aerys II and Rhaella. He was an only child for many years, so much so that when the youngest was born, he was already married and the father of two children. The apparently happy marriage united the Targaryens with the indomitable Martells of Dorne through Princess Elia, and the Targaryen lineage was more than assured with their children, Rhaenys and Aegon. They would follow their father on the Iron Throne, in addition to, of course, Viserys and Daenerys being the spares.

Rhaegar, unlike his father, was extremely popular and officially in love with his wife. Everything would change when he saw Lyanna Stark at the Harrenhal Tournament.

Lyanna, the only daughter among the Starks, had a rebellious soul and fought like the brothers to whom she was very close. Brandon, the eldest, was engaged to Catelyn Tully. Ned had not yet committed to anyone, but they suspected that one day he would marry Ahsara Dayne, one of Elia’s ladies-in-waiting. Do you understand what Lyanna and Rhaeghar’s secret caused?

Lyanna attracted attention at the tournament when she defended Howland Reed from attackers, tending to his wounds and taking him to the evening’s banquet. At the party, Rhaegar, who loved singing and had talent, made Lyanna cry with a melancholy song. The next day, a mysterious knight entered the tournament and defeated three experienced combatants. Everyone who read the book believes that it was Lyanna in disguise, and what reinforces the theory is that, as King Aerys II was paranoid, he believed that the mysterious knight was her enemy and sent Rhaegar to find and identify the knight. It would have been, but no one knew for sure when the prince discovered it was Lyanna and protected her without revealing her identity. What’s more, he would have fallen in love. So much so that, when Rhaegar wins the tournament, instead of presenting his wife with the crown of “queen of love and beauty”, he chooses Lyanna in front of everyone. A scandal.

Lyanna was engaged to Robert Baratheon, Ned’s best friend, but a drunken womanizer. The engagement was arranged by her father, so it was not – on her side – out of love. For at Harrenhall, the destinies of Fire (Rhaegar) and Ice (Lyanna) crossed and, somehow, the prince obsessed with legends and prophecies saw in the young Stark the signs he needed. It didn’t matter if he was already married and she was engaged: it was meant to be.

The gesture could be flirtation, education, love, or a subtle tribute to who he knew to be the mysterious Knight. It was immortalized by what happened next. A year later, Lyanna disappeared, and rumors soon surfaced. that she would have been kidnapped by Rhaegar (Robert’s version), because Rhaegar was obsessed with a prophecy and needed to have another child (“the dragon has three heads”), and Elia couldn’t get pregnant. In fact, we know that the two ran away together, that Rhaegar annulled his first marriage and made Lyanna his wife. She got pregnant and had a son, but died during childbirth.

Before getting married and becoming a mother, Lyanna never tried to explain to her father or brothers what was really happening. Between running away, getting married, and becoming a mother, it only takes a few months. There was time. However, without a note or news, it was difficult for those rude men to understand between the lines. Brandon Stark (Lyanna and Ned’s older brother) went to King’s Landing to demand Rhaegar’s death sentence for what he did.

I never understood this strategy. Going to the King to demand that he kill his son and heir is treason, so when Aerys II arrests Brandon, it is tragic because he didn’t know that Lyanna went voluntarily with her lover, but it is logical. The Mad King’s madness and cruelty were to summoned Rickard Stark (father of Brandon, Ned, and Lyanna), to come talk to him, only to be arrested and killed with sadism. As Rickard was burned alive, Brandon could only watch, but if he tried to save him, he would die by hanging. The two did not leave the throne room alive.

The rebellion took at least 9 months, and it was known that Rhaegar kept Lyanna in Dorne, but went to personally fight the rebels. He died facing Robert in the Battle of the Trident, breathing Lyanna’s name. Wounded, Robert sent Ned to the capital. By this time, the Lannisters had secretly changed their Jon Snow’s mother, an amazing but complex female character, to Dragonstone, for their safety, but refused to let Rhaegar’s wife, Elia, or their children leave. When he learned of Twyin’s betrayal, he wanted his head and “burn them all”, which meant using live fire to destroy the city and the people. But Jaime stabbed the king in the back. And the Mountain killed Elia’s two sons, raped her, and then killed her. When Ned arrived, violence and blood dominated King’s Landing, and Jaime sat on the Iron Throne. He never forgot the scene.

Without stopping there, Aerys II demanded the heads of Robert and Ned from Jon Arryn, the Lord of the Vail, with whom the two studied. Jon Arryn chose Love over Duty: he saved his charges. Ned and Robert called together their allies, and Robert’s Rebellion began. Even so, Lyanna didn’t think she should explain the truth. At the request of Catelyn’s father to go against the Crown, Ned married the young woman who was previously Brandon’s fiancée, and Jon, even though he was much older, married Catelyn’s sister, Lysa. In the short period they were together after marriage, Robb Star was conceived. Ned went into battle with Robert.

Ned’s conflict with the revolution led by Robert began when Stark learned of the deaths. of Elia and the children. Robert was pleased, but Ned was indignant. He preferred to leave. Arriving in Dorne, he located the Tower where Lyanna was, having to fight with the best knights to reach his sister. The last moments between the brothers are heartbreaking: she is in the last moments of her life, and he knows the truth, but accepts Lyanna’s request to lie about everything, especially the birth of Aegon, whom she calls Jon Snow, and presents it as yours.

Robert is crowned King and marries Cersei Lannister. He orders his brother, Stannis, to kill young Viserys II, Queen Rhaella, and the baby she was carrying. Rhaella died in childbirth, and Viserys and Daenerys fled, being helped by Houses loyal to the true heirs. House Targaryen was deposed, and Robert swore them both to death. Meanwhile, in Winterfell, Catelyn is devastated when Ned returns with a baby in his arms and asks her to accept it and raise it as her son. Jon Snow is never accepted by her, who never suspected that there was a nephew there. and even more so, the true heir to the Iron Throne.

All of this and what happened on Game of Thrones began with the big lie of Robert’s Rebellion: treating a love affair like kidnapping and rape. And although fans argue that there was “no time” for Lyanna and Rhaegar to explain, we know that’s not true. Brandon Stark would be dead for asking for the crown prince’s head, but other lives would have been spared.

As some defenders claim, she was new, and Brandon’s reaction was so immediate that before she arrived in Dorne, the beginning of the tragedies had already been given. And in fact, no one is sure when she knew what was happening, but she did. So much so that she was convinced that Robert would kill her son for being a Targaryen and asked Ned to promise to protect the baby. She also asked to be buried with her father and brother, who died for her.

One aspect that reinforces Robert’s theory is the fact that Lyanna had two guards protecting the Tower and with orders to prevent Ned from reaching it. Lyanna was effectively a prisoner, do you agree?

But the story of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark is really one of love and tragedy. Because they never clarified the truth, they lost the Crown and their lives, and a lot of blood was spilled. By meeting the Starks again in House of the Dragon, Cregan can show us both the tradition and integrity maintained by Ned, but, even more, confirm the legend of the love between Sara Snow and Jacaerys Velaryon. Another possible secret that, if confirmed, had less effect on the story, but which is differently linked to Lyanna Stark. It’s one of my biggest curiosities. Is it yours too?

Pesquisar

Pesquisar