MJ 🐉🖤 :
the best interpretation of Rhaegar is that he fucked up by mistake. If Lyanna is the knight of the laughing tree, then when Rhaegar finds her on the ASOIAF calendar, there is an active warrant out for treason against the knight, and Aerys has the guards searching along side Rhaegar. The literal only defense I've ever had of Rhaegar is this: if he had original plans to suggest opposing his father at the Journey of Harrenhal, but Varys tipped his father off and King Aerys showed up in attendance, so when Rhaegar realized that Aerys was there, it completely changed his plans. Aerys has the knight wanted for treason because he thinks it's Jaime, yes, but Aerys is also known to be unpredictable, unstable and paranoid. Finding out the knight was a woman could've caused a reaction out of him as well, and he panicked to protect Lyanna and her identity with his behavior later on. If he truly believed (in his own mind, not correctly) that he needed to have one more child to complete the three heads, we see him telling Elia in Daenerys' vision, he could've originally planned to win at Harrenhal and use the victory to get the lords attention by asking for a second wife in exchange for him agreeing to help stop his own father, with whatever dream information he had to share. He believed his son, Aegon, with Elia, was the prince who was promised and they also had Rhaenys, so Rhaegar would've only needed another girl, another wife for Aegon as well, his Visenya. him, in his mind, having a second wife and child would be okay because it would be a daughter and not challenge Elia's children.
but so much of what Rhaegar did is just neglect. He was in King's Landing AFTER leaving Lyanna and talked with Jaime before departing for the Trident... but DIDN'T organize any safety escape plans for Elia or his other children, even though he left multiple King's guard with Lyanna before a baby was even born. I hate him either way. I just wanna understand the mf. the fuck was he thinking??
2026-07-18 09:27:00