Game of Thrones: 5 Characters the Aegon the Conqueror prequel must get right
Recently there’s been talk of HBO developing a Game of Thrones prequel show about Aegon the Conqueror, which would follow the founder of the Targaryen Dynasty and show how he took over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. This is only one of many shows HBO is considering; they’re also developing a Jon Snow series, an animated series about the Yi Ti, and a show about Dunk and Egg; that one actually just got ordered to series. And this is all in addition to House of the Dragon, which has a second season coming out next year.
Needless to say, there is a lot going on in Westeros right now, so the chances of an Aegon the Conqueror show actually hitting our screens any time soon is very slim. In fact, it will probably take many years to develop, if it happens at all.
However, we have ways to keep busy while we wait. For instance, we previously brainstormed people who could play Aegon himself. But he’s not the only important character in this story. Here are five other characters and show about Aegon the Conqueror will need to get right:
1. Rhaenys Targaryen
The upsetting practice of Targaryen incest was in place well before the dragon-riding family came to Westeros, and Aegon the Conqueror was no stranger to the practice. One of his two sister wives was Rhaenys. Aegon was supposedly in love with her, unlike with his other sister Visenya.
Like her brother, Rhaenys was a dragonrider who was bonded with the formidable Meraxes. She was supposedly a kindhearted, playful and curious person who enjoyed dancing and music, but flying on Meraxes was her favorite pastime.
Rhaenys was alongside Aegon during his conquest of Westeros, capturing several castles after the Targaryen siblings landed at what would later become King’s Landing. She pronounced Aegon the king of Westeros at his coronation, while Visenya placed a Valyrian Steel crown upon his head.
In the coming months, Rhaenys and Meraxes were pivotal in winning the Stormlands to Aegon’s cause. Alongside Orys Baratheon, Rhaenys and Meraxes defeated the king of the Stormlands Argilac in a battle called the Last Storm. Rhaenys then regrouped with her siblings to meet the combined forces of the Reach and the Westerlands, where the three dragons burned thousands of men in the Field of Fire. Rhaenys was also present when King Torrhen Stark yielded to Aegon without a fight, saving the North from destruction.
When six of the seven kingdoms were secure, Rhaenys was sent to Dorne to capture the desert land for Aegon’s cause. When she arrived, Rhaenys found the elderly Princess Meria Martell unwilling to kneel to her brother. Rhaenys promised the Targaryens would return and conquer Dorne by force.
They eventually made good on that promise in 4 AC, when they seemingly took over Dorne with little resistance. As the Targaryens celebrated in King’s Landing, they received word that the castellans and men they had left to rule Dorne were all captured or killed. They took wing to rain fire on the desert kingdom in a years-long war.
In 10 AC, Rhaenys and Meraxes were killed after a bolt from a Dornish scorpion pierced the dragon’s eye, sending the pair hurling to the ground. Rhaenys’ body was never recovered, but she is believed to have fallen off Meraxes in mid-air to her death. For the next two years, Aegon and Visenya burned every keep, castle and holdfast in Dorne to get vengeance.
It was from Aegon and Rhaenys’ line that the Targaryen dynasty was spawned, except for Maegor, who we will discuss later. Rhaenys gave birth to Aegon’s heir Aenys I in 7 AC, three years before her death.
HBO must be diligent in casting Rhaenys, as she will be one of the two female leads and a cornerstone of this show.