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Rumors began to swirl, and eventually take hold, that Tywin was the true king, not Aerys. And Tywin was doing just that, making him the perfect man for the job. As they say in Westeros, what the king dreams, the Hand builds. He settled the crown’s problems with the Iron Bank, appeased the high lords and ladies, built important structures, and, all in all, kept everyone happy. By then, Tywin had a reputation for putting his family’s enemies in their rightful places (‘The Rains of Castamere’ anyone?), and, given their relationship and history, it only made sense for him to be named Hand. Upon his assumption of the throne, he replaced many old faces in court with younger men like himself. To be completely fair, Aerys had a good start. Jaehaerys would succumb to an illness a few years later in 262 AC, passing the throne to Aerys and signaling what would be the end of the reign of the Targaryen kings. Jaehaerys took the throne while Aerys was with his sister-wife, for his son Rhaegar was born on the same day (hence his deep connection to the tragedy in the books). A great fire broke out (although some theorize and speculate that someone must have set the place on fire without them knowing it), and father and son perished.

#MAD MAX TIMELINE FULL#

We have yet to know the full details of the tragedy, but the books so far reveal that it had happened after Aegon V had been attempting to hatch dragon eggs at Summerhall with his son and heir, Prince Duncan. The Tragedy at Summerhall is important to Aerys’ backstory because if it hadn’t happened, then he probably would have never been king. Now, bear with me, because this one is a bit of a doozy with all the names involved. The Tragedy at Summerhall and His Ascension In fact, after the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Aerys even chose to be knighted by no one else but Tywin. Tywin had served as a page in the royal court and became fast friends with the prince. I don’t care how nice they seem, it never turns out well!) And so the match was made, and the sibling-spouses were miserable.ĭuring his youth, Aerys would also befriend who would, later on, become his closest confidante, Hand, and eventually, his enemy: Tywin Lannister, along with Steffon Baratheon, the Lord of Storm’s End. (For the millionth time, don’t listen to witches who come out of the woods to give you a prophecy. Despite this, Aerys’ father Jaehaerys demanded that he marry his sister Rhaella, due to a prophecy from a woods witch saying that the product of their union would bring forth the legendary Prince That Was Promised. Early lifeĪerys’ grandfather was Aegon V (better known as Aegon the Unlikely for ascending to the thrown despite being the fourth son of a king), who surprisingly was against incestuous marriages and encouraged his children to marry for love.

Out of fear of being poisoned, he also became very thin and gaunt and often ended up wounding himself whenever he sat atop the Iron Throne. His once glorious hair became matted while his nails grew into talon-like claws. From there, Aerys began refusing to wash and trim his beard and nails. However, following a kidnapping during the Defiance of Duskendale, he would become paranoid and slowly begin a descent into madness. He was handsome in his youth and was also undeniably charming.

Like all the Targaryens (save for Jon Snow, of course, if you subscribe to the events of Game of Thrones’s final season), Aerys had silver hair and purple eyes. With House of the Dragon just right around the corner, let’s get to know the Targaryen who quite literally played with fire, and who also happens to be the dynasty’s last king, Aerys II. Although already deceased in both versions, the Mad King is still the subject of whispers and fears and makes up for a large part of both iterations’ lore.

But perhaps no Targaryen looms over the timeline of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s Game of Thrones like the Mad King. The Targaryens come from a long line of conquerors and rulers-with their dynasty checkered with both madness and greatness because, as they say, when a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin.