Rhaegar Targaryen.
Prince of Dragonstone.
Heir to the Iron Throne.
The most beloved Prince of the Targaryen bloodline.
Son. Brother. Father.
Hero.
The single most important character in the books.
I have always been disappointed with the show, for how they did not deliver justice to this wonderful character. How they almost completely erased his narrative.
There have been several back stories and chapters in The Song of Ice and Fire that describe the glory of this Targaryen Prince. His character has been developed so intricately that GRRM has managed to make all readers fall in love with him.
If you’ve been watching the show, you know him as the Prince who kidnapped Lyanna Stark, and ignited Robert’s rebellion. He was the last dragon, and he was killed by Robert in the battle of the Trident.
However, there are several theories floating about in the fandom, that R.T. may actually be alive, and revolving around the current timeline of the story in disguise, as a notable character.
A couple of the famous theories, that are worth mentioning are:
“Mance Rayder could be Rhaegar Targaryen.”
“Jaqen H’gar is also believed to be Rhaegar Targaryen in disguise.”
“Rhaegar Targaryen is hiding in the crypts of Winterfell.”
(Alright. This one’s a little creepy)
At this point, the GoT community has gotten so obsessed and creative with the R+L=J theory that it makes us suspicious that every single character might potentially be a secret Targaryen (wtf).
What do we know about Rhaegar Targaryen from the show?
We know that he was the son of the Mad King, Aegon Targaryen. We know that he is Jon Snow’s father, and he is Lyanna Stark’s baby daddy.
The books paint a much more detailed backstory to this purple eyed prince. He is, without a doubt, my most favorite character in the ASOIAF world.
Rhaegar Targaryen is the rightful heir to the iron throne. He is the first born child of the Mad King.
He married Elia Martell of Dorne.
Elia was madly in love with Rhaegar (I mean, who wouldn’t be, the dude’s literally the SRK of Westeros. He plays the harp, looks like a God, and is a swooning romantic.) However, Rhaegar was mentioned to have been “fond” of Elia – who was a weak, fragile woman – and having their second child almost killed her.
However, Rhaegar was mentioned to have been “fond” of Elia – who was a weak, fragile woman – and having their second child almost killed her, and she was told she couldn’t have any more children.
All this isn’t even where his story begins.
The real solid foundation for his story and the entire epic of A Song of Ice and Fire begins when Rhaegar Targaryen meets Lyanna Stark.
They are the original characters that the series (I believe) is named after.
She is the Ice in the title, (A Stark from the frozen north) and He is the Fire (The Prince of Dragonstone, with fire magic running in his blood.)
It’s their relationship, that brings down the seven kingdoms, and breaks the peace of Westeros. If you think about it a little deeper, if it were not for the events that surrounded these two, GAME OF THRONES WOULD NOT EVEN EXIST!
Let me give you a short summary – if you’re a show watcher and you’ve never read the books, it’s important you know this part, so that this prediction makes sense.
Rhaegar Targaryen was the Prince of Dragonstone and the Heir to the Iron Throne. He was married to Elia Martell of Dorne and had two children with her.
Lyanna Stark was the daughter of Rickard Stark and the sister of Eddard Stark, Benjin Stark and Brandon Stark.
Now, a quick character mapping.
Out of the four Stark Children, Eddard (our beloved Ned) was the quietest and the most docile. Lyanna and her brother Brandon had what their father called ‘wolf blood’. They were both wild, impulsive and feisty – a trait that we can see in another Stark of the next generation – Arya.
She was engaged to Robert Baratheon, a betrothal she despised but had to endure since it was arranged by her parents.
Rhaegar Targaryen, on the other hand, was married to Elia Martell and was the father of two children. He was a Prince that was loved by everyone. He was empathetic, kind, and the least cruel of all the Targaryen rulers. He is also said to have been exceedingly intelligent.
“He excelled at anything he put his mind to.”
He was also said to have been ‘quiet, private and bookish.’
He was a romantic. He loved poetry and music.
In fact, Rhaegar Targaryen was said to have been the most talented harp player in all of Westeros. His music could melt hearts and move spirits.
Cue the tourney at Harrnehal, and the star crossed lovers meet.
What happens here, and how they fall in love, is yet another amazing story that I’ll write about in another post, but for brevity’s sake let fast forward to the point in the story where the two characters fall in love.
Rhaegar Targaryen wins the tourney, takes the crown of winter roses, rides right past his wife, and places them on Lyanna Stark’s lap, crowning her the Queen of Love and Beauty.
(um. awkward?)
Anyone might be able to predict this was not going to end well.
Rhaegar was married to someone else, and Lyanna was engaged to another. All dynamics of this relationship were scandalous and deadly.
The King was not happy with his married son flirting in open space with a Stark Girl. The Starks, on the other hand, took this gesture as an insult, and Brandon Stark expressed his wrath against the Targaryens for this.
But the heart wants what the heart wants, right?
Rhaegar and Lyanna elope and hide in a tower at Dorne. They get married in secret and have a child together- Jon Snow. By the time Baby Jon Snow is born, both Rhaegar and Lyanna die.
This is where things get complex.
You see, we know that Lyanna Stark died, because of the fact that her remains still lie in the crypts of Winterfell.
And, there was an important character who witnessed this death – Ned Stark, her brother.
However, Rhaegar Targaryen’s death is a lot more blurry.
During the battle of the Trident, Robert Baratheon (who was obsessed and madly in love with Lyanna) went into a single combat with Rhaegar. While they’re both at the river, a single death blow from Robert’s Warhammer, smashes into his chest, making it a killing stroke, and spilling out a blood of rubies from the Prince’s armor.
The rubies splash and scatter into the river, as Rhaegar Targaryen falls into the waters – this part of the river would forever as Ruby Ford. The soldiers rush to their prince and try to collect all the rubies that fell from his chest (because, em…free bling lying in shallow waters, and the economy is bad, I guess?)
However, this is the point – the crucial point in the narrative where the theory that Rhaegar may actually be alive is based upon.
When the Targaryen prince falls (spilling expensive rubies as he does), there is chaos, confusion, and excitement. The rebels rejoice over their victory. The Targaryen soldiers are shell shocked. People want to get to the rubies. And amidst all this calamity, Rhaegar Targaryen’s body kind of disappears.
Yes.
It just disappears. The books stop right there and don’t explain where his body went, or who retrieved it. However, it is safe to assume that his body was washed down by the river. Let’s keep in mind that we use the word body only assuming that Robert’s strike actually killed him.
The books stop right there and don’t explain where his body went, or who retrieved it. However, it is safe to assume that his body was washed down by the river. Let’s keep in mind that we use the word body only assuming that Robert’s strike actually did kill him.
But what if it didn’t?
What if, when he fell into the river, everyone was confused about the quickly assumed death of the Prince, and they were more focussed on collecting his precious rubies, that nobody actually checked if he was dead or just in a state of unconsciousness, which would have given Rhaegar Targaryen enough time and space to slip out of the battle field.
However, this is a little too far fetched.
There’s another theory that I read – which I feel is a lot more substantial.
You see, the world of ice and fire is full of symbolisms and secret hints.
Rubies are always used to represent disguise. To represent deception. Remember the ruby necklace that Mellisandre uses to hide her appearance?
Yes. The same implication here.
Most people assume that the person who fought Robert Baratheon in the Trident, was not Rhaegar Targaryen at all, but just someone disguised as him. So, although the blow from Rob’s Warhammer may have killed him, it was not the dragon prince, but just a mere imposter.
I know this post has already grown longer than I thought, but these are very important plot lines that the show watchers may not be aware of, since HBO decided to play God and marched away from the nerve lines, and decided to go in a different direction.
Up until now, the Mance Rider theory was the most widely popular one with the Rhaeghar Targareyan Is Still Alive thread.
Mance Rayder is the King beyond the wall. He has a notorious reputation for being mysterious or hiding something important from his past. He used to wear a cloak of red and black (the colors of the Targaryen flag), plays a string instrument (Rhaegar played the harp). Although it all seems to add up, I have a strong instinct that Rhaegar Targaryen is NOT Mance Rayder. These hints are just random coincidences connected by us desperate fans.
However, the season finale showed us a completely different light to this theory.
Mance Rayder simply feels only like a rough tangent to the plot.
Although, there is ONE part of this theory that I would like to extract to support mine.
Mance Rayder or not, we now know for sure that there is a Targaryen north of the wall.
I would like to take this a little forward and say that if Rhaegar Targaryen is alive at all, he is in the north of the wall.
Season 7 finale, showed us one important hint about the night king. He was able to control Viscerion.
Up until now, most of us believed that the Night King might be a Stark.
We know that only Targareyans are said to have the fire magic in their blood that makes them control and ride dragons. Dead or not, the Dragon chooses its rider. The Night King was able to command the Ice Dragon – which really makes us want to believe the fact that he is a Targaryen.
This would mean that when Jon Snow and the Night King face each other for battle, they would be both morally conflicted once they find out that they are father and son – the cheesiest ethical conundrum that has been the most exploited.
This would also give the whites a motive.
For ages, we’ve been wondering what the white walkers actually want. Why do they go about killing people and reaping the dead into their army of frozen zombies?
If R.T is actually the Night King, that would make some sense. He needs the army of the dead to win back the throne that is rightfully his. (However, this brings out another plot hole, who would he rule over? A pile of dead people?)
I’m not sure yet, but I assume that the show would end with Rhaegar Targaryen, as the Night King, sitting on the Iron throne that has caused so much betrayal and bloodshed. This also fits into the theme of GRRM’s storyline – in the end, Death will get all of us. Death is the ultimate ruler.
Or maybe the Night King will spare a few humans, and the Others and the Humans will live in some weird symbiotic relationship. Maybe.
I say this because, in the books, the Others (the white walkers) are not all cold and evil. They are said to look terrifying and beautiful at the same time, they have a mode of communication between them, they are even said to possess a good sense of humor.
HBO has made them look like some generic zombies, while in the books, they are described as entities much more complex, and much more intelligent than Humans.
Thus ends the prediction that The Night King may be Rhaegar Targaryen, and he is headed down south to win back the throne that is rightfully his.
However, having said all this, I would like to add that I HOPE THIS IS NOT TRUE. There will be the cheesiest moral conflict that has always been around for ages in all fantasy stories.
“Family versus Virtue.”
“Blood versus duty.”
We have seen this in Star Wars. We have seen this in Mahabharata. We have seen this in almost all famous fantasy plots humans have created across cultures and timelines.
I just sincerely hope as a fan, the story ends with a different twist than this painfully predictable family drama.
Only time will tell.
XOXO,
Bala.
P.S. Thanks to my Uyir Natpu, Rama Krishna, for the conversation that sparked the idea for this post. Although I still haven’t forgiven you for pranking me with those fake spoilers, I’ll let you live for now :p
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