Rhaegar: was Jon’s father the true hero of Game of Thrones?

why do i care about this more than real history

And after all this it's just arya who ninja-dagger-one-shots the whole white walker army

"Arya stark killed the night king" Rhaegar: "I've tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter" 😂

There's another little piece of evidence toward Jon Snow being Azor Ahai that wasn't mentioned in the video. Part of the prophecy says that Azor Ahai will be born beneath a bleeding star. Ser Arthur Dayne died while protecting Lyanna Stark during Jon Snow's birth. The sigil of house Dayne is a sword and a shooting star, and Ser Arthur Dayne was known as the Sword of the Morning. Ser Arthur Dayne was a star that bled on the day of Jon Snow's birth.

Ned: Rhaegar may be your father, but he ain't your daddy.

Bro this is way too complicated for D&D

"he plunged his sword into her conceiving Jon" absolute poetry

I've always called Jon the Song of Ice and Fire. Love-making or conception has always been referred to as "making music" and I'd like to think that the romanticism is a metaphor for Rhaegar and Lyanna's love. Jon is their song. A token of their love. The Song of Ice and Fire.

What a brilliant mind George has. This world he created with all its history and characters is incredible.

Wish i could see Catelyns face, when she realizes that Jon is not the bastard, but true heir to the iron throne.

I find Rhaegar Targaryen utterly fascinating. On one hand we have this archetype of the Hero, the Prince, the Philosopher King of Plato almost. On the other, the wretched man who kidnapped a gullible teenager and sunk the Realm in chaos for what? Rhaegar is a man haunted by the ghosts of Dragon Dreams and obtuse prophecies; whose melancholy stops him from becoming the man the realm needs; with no political influence or understanding of who he is and where he is. In another story, he would’ve won the war and taken Lyanna to be his second wife if not his main wife. In another story he would’ve saved the world. But he’s just remembered as a shadowy figure, better than the King and as wretched as him. And the funny thing is, we will never know what went through his head when he decided that The Dragon has Three Heads. Gods, I hate you Rhaegar.

While I think the last theory is correct, I am certain Rhaegar didn’t know it. He never thought he was going to die at the Trident as he planned to make changes on his return. Rhaegar likely had prophetic dreams but those are always misinterpreted and cause the person to take actions that cause the prophecy to come true, but not in the way they intended.

"The Mountain is Podrick riding on Hot Pie's shoulders." Now THAT's a theory.

To clarify the conclusion – Rhaegar probably wasn't riding to the Trident expecting to die there – he tells Jaime that he plans to call a council after the battle. But it's still plausible that Rhaegar had some general suspicion that his death, and the deaths of his family, might be part of his prophetic destiny – and that this foreknowledge contributed to his melancholy and sense of doom. Or maybe he had no idea and was only in it for his bae Lyanna – "Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman’s name" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Love is the death of duty." Jon: Chooses duty over love, killing Daenerys. Survives the series and saves the kingdoms from a mad queen. Robb: Chooses love over duty, marrying another when he is promised to Roslin Frey. Dies, gets most of his men killed and his whole cause set back.

plot twist: Rhaegar was the prince that was promised but he screwed it all up starting a civil war and getting himself killed trying to fulfill the prophecy instead of letting it play out and being a good king when Westeros needed it the most.

"The things I do for love" could've just as easily been uttered by Rhaegar just before destroying the entirety of Westeros through the consequences of his actions. As Maester Aemon said, "Love is the death of duty".

"His actions led to Jon, who may be the hero who saves the world." Turns out he's pretty inconsequential and just repeats stuff like "Yur my queen" and "I dunt want it"

A lot of people had to die for Jon's birth. Could they be considered a blood sacrifice? I also think that Rhaegar was mad. He just had to wait for his father to die (or overthrow him) and then reign peacefully. Instead he acts rash and throws it all away for a "prophecy". Kind of how King Baelor walks across Westoros to jump into a pit of vipers, thinking the gods will protect him. Mad, I say.