Everything about Game of Thrones House Targaryen starts with a giant, fire-breathing contradiction. They’re the ultimate "cool" factor in fantasy—who doesn't want a dragon?—but they’re also a genetic and political train wreck. People look at Daenerys or Aegon the Conqueror and see gods. George R.R. Martin, however, spent thousands of pages trying to tell us they were just deeply flawed humans with really dangerous pets.
They aren't even from Westeros. That's the first thing you’ve got to wrap your head around if you want to understand why they never truly fit in. They are Valyrian refugees. When the Doom ate their homeland, they were the only dragon-riding family to survive, mostly because Daenys the Dreamer had a vision and convinced her dad, Aenar, to move the whole operation to Dragonstone. It wasn't destiny. It was a lucky hunch.
What People Get Wrong About the Targaryen Conquest
Most fans think Aegon I showed up and just burned everything until people bowed. It’s partially true. He had Balerion the Black Dread, a dragon so big his shadow could cover entire towns. But the Game of Thrones House Targaryen legacy isn't just about firepower; it’s about the weird compromise of the Iron Throne.
Aegon was actually a bit of a pragmatist. He didn't come to destroy the culture of the Seven Kingdoms. He adopted their gods. He took on their customs. He basically told the Lords of Westeros, "You keep your castles, you keep your gold, just say I’m the boss and stop fighting each other." It worked. Well, until it didn't.
The dragons were the only thing keeping the peace. Without them, the Targaryens were just silver-haired foreigners with a penchant for marrying their siblings. When the dragons died out after the Dance of the Dragons—a brutal civil war where they basically nuked their own family tree—the clock started ticking on their reign.
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The Genetic Coin Toss: Madness or Greatness?
You’ve heard the quote. King Jaehaerys II famously said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin. One side is greatness, the other is madness. Honestly, it’s a bit of a localized myth, but it holds water when you look at the track record.
- Aerys II (The Mad King): He started out okay! He was charming and had big plans. Then he spent half a year in a dungeon during the Defiance of Duskendale and came out convinced everyone was trying to kill him. He ended up wanting to burn King's Landing to the ground.
- Baelor the Blessed: He was "mad" in a different way. He was so pious he locked his sisters in a "Maidenvault" so he wouldn't be tempted by them. He eventually starved himself to death because he thought fasting would make him holy.
- Maegor the Cruel: He wasn't crazy; he was just a monster. He built the Red Keep and then killed all the builders so they couldn't tell anyone about the secret passages.
The "madness" is probably just a result of generations of inbreeding. They did it to keep the "blood of the dragon" pure, thinking it was the only way to retain the ability to bond with dragons. It’s a classic case of a superpower coming with a massive, soul-crushing cost.
Why the Dragons Actually Mattered
In the world of Game of Thrones House Targaryen, dragons are more than just weapons. They are magical nuclear deterrents. While the Targaryens had them, nobody dared rebel. Not seriously.
The bond is psychic. It's biological. In Fire & Blood, Martin hints that there’s some dark blood magic involved in how the Valyrians originally tethered themselves to these beasts. If you aren't a Targaryen (or a "dragonseed" with their blood), trying to hop on a dragon usually results in becoming a very crispy snack.
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But look at what happens when the dragons go away. The family spends the next 150 years trying to hatch petrified eggs. They tried prayer. They tried wildfire. They tried "The Tragedy at Summerhall," where King Aegon V (the "Egg" from the Dunk and Egg novellas) likely tried some sort of ritual that ended up burning the palace down and killing almost everyone inside.
The Rebellion That Ended It All
Robert’s Rebellion didn't happen because of a simple kidnapping. It happened because the Targaryen system of "absolute power through fear" collapsed when the fear disappeared.
Rhaegar Targaryen "kidnapping" Lyanna Stark was the spark, but the fuel was years of Aerys II being a paranoid nightmare. When he burned Rickard Stark alive and made Brandon Stark strangle himself trying to save his father, the feudal contract was broken. A king is supposed to protect his lords. Aerys was just a predator.
Viserys and Daenerys were the leftovers. They grew up in exile, selling their mother's crown just to buy bread. This is where the story gets interesting for modern fans. Daenerys didn't just want the throne; she wanted to justify her family’s entire existence. She believed she was the "rightful" ruler, but as the show and books demonstrate, "rightful" doesn't mean much when you're leading an army of foreigners into a land that has spent twenty years trying to forget you ever existed.
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How to Dig Deeper into the Lore
If you're looking to really master the history of Game of Thrones House Targaryen, you have to look past the HBO shows. The lore is dense, but it's rewarding.
- Read "Fire & Blood": This is a "history book" written by Archmaester Gyldayn. It’s dry in spots but gives you the gritty details of the first half of the Targaryen dynasty. It’s where House of the Dragon gets its source material.
- The World of Ice & Fire: This is an encyclopedia. It has the best illustrations and explains the geography of Dragonstone and Valyria.
- Check out the "Dunk and Egg" Novellas: These take place about 90 years before the main series. They show the Targaryens at their peak—not as legends, but as actual people walking around Westeros. It’s a much more grounded look at the family.
- Analyze the Blackfyre Rebellions: This is the most underrated part of the history. A Targaryen king (Aegon the Unworthy) legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. It led to generations of civil wars between the "Red Dragon" (the main branch) and the "Black Dragon" (the bastards). It’s basically a second family tree you have to learn.
The story of the Targaryens is essentially a tragedy about the burden of legacy. They spent three hundred years trying to live up to the image of Aegon the Conqueror, but they were mostly just people trying not to burn their own house down. Sometimes they succeeded. Usually, they didn't.
Understanding this family requires looking at them as a fallen aristocracy, not just a bunch of dragon riders. They lost their home, they lost their magic, and eventually, they lost their minds. That's what makes them the most compelling house in the entire mythos.