 What's up guys, this is part two, so if you missed part one, what are you doing? Go check it out, it should be linked right here, it's also linked in the description. Let's go. Eris Targaryen was the last of his name to sit on the Iron Throne. What a... Known far and wide as the Mad King. Let's go, Robert. His was a reign of instability and terror. The Seven Kingdoms are well rid of him and his kind. Oh, he may have appeared to be a capable ruler at first, but that was due in no small part to his counselors led by the hand of the King Tywin Lannister. Oh. There may have been years of peace and prosperity during Eris's reign. Isn't he the king now? And it was really running the country as Eris spiraled further and further in. Can I please pause this so I don't miss this thought? Yeah. So guys, it's extremely important where we're at in this series right now because they're just said Tywin Lannister is about to become the Hand of the King once more. Like, look at history repeating itself. Oh, Lordy. Like, it's different, but it's not. So with Jothry being on the throne and then Tywin Lannister being the Hand of the King, I can just see how Tyranny is going to, and instability and terror could come back to the Seven Kingdoms. So this is doing such a crazy job of like making it seem extremely important that the series of events that's going to happen in this episode are going to go in a positive way because if not, it's going to be hell on earth is basically the picture that I'm getting. Right. And we just got introduced to those dragons. So is it going to be Dinka? We see doing this. Like, I can't get through like four sentences without filling the urge to just be like, ah, so sorry, guys. Like, if you guys are rocking with us, right with us, if not, man, I'm so sorry. I know we talk a lot. It's kind of exciting to learn stuff. I don't know. We're just too into this right now. So it's silly, but we're famous for losing their minds. It was the price they paid for centuries of keeping the bloodlines pure. And Eris all then happily continued the noble sister fucking tradition of his forefathers. As the years passed, Eris's behavior became increasingly erratic. He cut himself so often on his iron throne, many referred to him as King Scab, though never to his face. It was rumored he had developed an obsession with wildfire and was known to inflict horrific punishments on those he considered enemies, including burning them alive. As his paranoia and bloodlust grew, he had a bitter falling out with Lord Tywin, who had served the crown faithfully for 20 years. At least Tywin was able to leave the job with his life and fortunes intact. Crazy. Subsequent hands of King Eris weren't so fortunate. Then the Targaryens went too far. The crown prince, Rhaegar, abducted Lyanna Stark, daughter of Richard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell. She was my betrothed. She was my beloved, beautiful and spirited woman. And I loved her more than life itself. A whole seven kingdoms came through. Right. Lyanna, hiding her away in dawn. What harm he inflicted on the poor girl the gods only know. Brandon Stark, Lyanna's eldest brother, was outraged. He rode to King's Landing to confront the King and demand his sister's safe return. Instead, Eris had him executed, his father, Rickard Stark as well. There wasn't much left to discuss after that. Eris feared their loved ones would seek revenge for what he did. He was right to be afraid. Eris wasted no time in calling for the heads of Brandon's younger brother, my friend, Eddard Stark. And my head too, of course. I'm sorry he didn't come looking for it himself. Alongside Jon Arryn of the Vale, the man who fostered Ned and I as children. Baratheons, Starks and Tully's all called their banners. Once our rebellion began, the Mad King's days were numbered. Dude, I kind of wish we would have, I mean like, I'd have been completely lost, but I wish we could have watched this before the first season. Right, they mentioned it so much and it just doesn't hit the same. Like when she's like, we once fought together. Look on the, you know, we once fought in the battle or so and so I'm like, dude, okay, I understand. Like y'all, y'all once came together because this crazy MF or been kidnapped the ladies, so y'all fought for like someone's life together and it really just hits, you know. And that's crazy that that was Ned's sister. So this is like insane. How it's not like ancient history, right? And it just happened. Absolutely. And you know, another thing is, I forgot what I was going to say, but God, it was so profound that I just felt like, how does that? Oh, yeah. The my favorite thing is how even though it's repeating itself in a way, it's telling the story from different people's perspective. So that way, not only are you getting like the story, you're getting it in a more realistic type of way. So let's go. These are, these are wrong. As Ares Targaryen's behavior grew more and more erratic, the task of ruling the seven kingdoms fell to me, time in Lannister. I had served Ares for nearly 20 years. And as a result, the realm had prospered. The royal coffers were full. The land was at peace. But Ares grew increasingly hostile, jealous of the success many credited to me. My power and influence unnerved him. The captain of my personal guard, Serelin Payne, was once overheard making offhand comments regarding who was the true ruler of Westeros. Oh, geez. When the king was given this information, he had Lillian Payne's tongue ripped out with hot pincers. That's who killed Ned, Lillian Payne. Unite the houses of Lannister and Targaryen through marriage. My daughter, Cersei, would marry Ares' eldest son, Prince Rhaegar. So the union made perfect sense for all parties. However, Ares' senses had begun to leave him quite some time earlier. Instead of uniting the royal family with its most loyal and powerful ally, Ares chose instead to insult my family. Indicating that such a match was beneath Rhaegar. Instead, he chose Elia Martell of Dorm to be Rhaegar's wife. So she got rejected, Cersei. In my wounds. Ares appointed Jaime my son to the king's guard. Oh, wow. The king's guard may be an honor for lesser families than ours. But it is a lifetime appointment that forces him to renounce all family holdings. Dang. So sorry. So basically, by him taking Jaime as the hand of the king, he was basically like, not only screw you, dude, I'm going to double screw you by taking such a valuable asset. Like they could have married Jaime off for really powerful political purposes. Right. Oh, baby, this show. We could have had a son. As we go forward, I won't sit here and beat a dead horse or nothing, man. But geez, like this show is so, like, well put together. Almost like anything I've ever seen, like, unlike anything I've ever seen. And this is crazy. I'm getting excited about it, guys. In naming an heir to Casterly Rock. But Ares knew all that. I had grown tired of the king's constant provocation. Thus, I resigned my post as Ares hand and return to Casterly Rock with my considerable forces. When Robert Baratheon rebelled against the throne, Ares grew fearful that I would join with Robert's forces and rise against him. He thought himself clever and kept Jaime very close, as if warning me. Yes, I'm trying to put and deeper into delusion, paranoia and violence. I've heard it said he became obsessed with wildfire, a substance which once lit cannot be extinguished. Convinced he had enemies all around him, he wouldn't allow blades in his presence. Save for those of his king's guard. Alas, that proved to be his undoing. I was trying to get at time on Lannister. One last time was his undoing. So, Tywin Lannister was kind of the brains behind the kingdom prospering and he didn't really get credit. Right, but it goes to, it begs the question like, what does prospering mean? Right, because it sounds like they were like kind of struggling and like a prospering means everyone has to shut up while they live in peace. And, you know, and from their perspective, everything's going great, but it appeared to be a time of like chaos and not chaos, but like fear. You know, they're ruled with fear. So it wasn't so good for the people. But in terms of the X's and O's of, you know, are the numbers good? It was probably a very good time, you know, because it was a, you know, apparently sitting on the throne can cut you. Gee, I mean, it makes sense. It's made out of so called King scabs. But wouldn't you like to dole it down or something or put a cushion on it? It just seems a little wild to me, right? But I guess that's why we're soft these days. We got lazy boys. Yeah, his undoing was basically about trying to get Jamie close to him. That ended up being the thing that told him, you know, I want to put someone so close to you who's you're tonning their family. The Targaryen dynasty united the seven kingdoms and lasted nearly three centuries. It was a dynasty forged in fire, sealed in blood and destroyed by rebellion. The Targaryens are blood of the dragon, descended from the nobility of ancient Valyria, a once mighty empire in the East. When the Cataclysmic Doom laid waste of Valyria and its people, the Targaryens survived, having settled on the island fortress of Dragonstone years before. They remained there for a century, until the rise of Aegon the Conqueror. Aeton the Conqueror, so. Attempting to reclaim the eastern lands of his ancestors, Aegon sailed west for the seven kingdoms. I thought that's what it was. They just started wrong. I thought I was wrong. To keep the bloodlines pure, Aegon continued the custom of his Valyrian ancestors and took both of his sisters to wife. Together, they came ashore on the eastern coast of Westeros, their blazin, a dragon with three heads, representing Aegon and his sister-wives, their words, fire and blood. While their host was small in comparison to the armies of Westeros that awaited them, they had dragons. Aegon and his sisters had a secret weapon, the last of the dragons. That's right. He conquered every kingdom, saved dawn, which eventually bowed to Targaryen rule a century later. He had the swords of his enemies melted down by the fiery breath of his dragon, Belerion the Black Dread, and forged into the Iron Throne. The capital city of King's Landing was built on the eastern coast, where Aegon and his sisters first came ashore, and Aegon ordered the construction of a royal castle on its highest hill, the Red Keep. For 300 years, the Targaryen dynasty stayed strong in the face of rebellion, civil war and plague. But the line of dragon kings was broken when my father, Aerys Targaryen, the second of his name, was overthrown in rebellion. By Jaime. My father was betrayed and slaughtered by said Jaime Lannister, a member of his own Kingsguard. His son and heir, my brother Rhaegar, perished on the field of battle at the hands of Robert Baratheon, who claimed the Iron Throne for himself. And so today, the only surviving members of the storied Targaryen dynasty are myself, Prince Viserys, rightful King of the Andals, and ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and my sister, Daenerys. We were spirited away to the free cities of the east by loyalists. Here we have lived in exile ever since. That's where it started. Dream of a day when we will cross the narrow sea. So she really is the last Targaryen on this throne. That's crazy. Well, and Master Eamon, but he doesn't claim a house because he's a meister. Robertson Billion. I wonder if House of Dragons takes place when Aegon the Conqueror was there. Maybe. The crimes of the Targaryen were too heinous to go unanswered. The noble houses of Baratheon, Stark, and Arryn united to oppose and overthrow the line of the cursed dragon kings. While Ned Stark and Arryn secured an alliance with the Tullys of Riverrun, I called the banners of Storm's End and rode out in force against the Mad King and his minions. Guards, those were some battles. Our first victory occurred at Summerhall, where I faced off against an army of dragon loyalists and won three battles in a single day, three in one day. Seven hells, that was a glorious day. We tried to take Ashford Castle in the Reach, but the Tyrells beat us back. We had to regroup. My army was pursued north by Aerys' army and took refuge in the Stony Sept in the Riverlands. When the Targaryen army entered the town, the Sept bells tolled, a signal to the townspeople of the battle that was to come. As the Targaryen searched from house to house for me, the combined forces of Ned Stark and the Tullys swept into the city. Guards, what a day that was. I love his... It's now known as the Battle of the Bells. We overwhelmed the Mad King's forces and sent them scampering back to King's Landing. Aerys' son Rhaegar, who started the whole damn thing, finally emerged from hiding in the south and assembled his own army to face us. As for the Mad King, he must have been pissing himself. The battle that would decide the fate of the Seven Kingdoms occurred at the crossing of the Green Fork of the Trident River. That's what they had in pass just recently. Rhaegar commanded the royal host, which was some 40,000 strong. My forces were outnumbered by nearly 5,000 men, but that didn't matter. They were fresh, but we were battle-hardened and had justice on our side. As the battle raged around as I faced off with Rhaegar, the stag and the dragon right there in the ford of the river. I fought with the fury of ten men, raining blow after blow upon that vile prince before burying my war hammer in his chest. I hit him so hard, the rubies on his armor broke free, flinging them into the stream. They call it the ruby ford now. With that scum Rhaegar dead and the royal army shattered, our next move was to make for King's Landing. But I'd sustained a few wounds in the battle and was unable to ride. I sent Ned Stark to the capital to face the Mad King and make him pay for his crimes. What? He sent Ned? So we're about to hear it from Viserys' side. The Targaryens, blood of the dragon and the last of Old Valyria were loved by their subjects and admired far and wide as the greatest dynasty in the history of the Western world. But the peace and prosperity of nearly three centuries of Targaryen rule was shattered by the usurper, Robert Baratheon, and his band of traitors. House Baratheon owed its very existence to the Targaryens. Was it not Aegon the dragon himself who elevated the bastard Oris Baratheon in the War of Conquest? And what of the Starks, the Lannisters, the errands of the Vale? All had been spared and allowed to keep their lands when Aegon could easily have wiped them out. Centuries later, the usurper and his lackeys repaid Aegon's benevolence with treachery. There are some who dare to claim Robert and his allies had reason to rebel. They say the crown prince stole the usurper's lady love. They say my father, King Aerys, murdered Richard Stark and his son without just cause. Yeah, Chris, what, though? Whether these charges are true or not, it doesn't matter. The dragon answers to no one. Oh, tyrants. Aerys' good name has been besmirched in the years since the rebellion. He's been called a dangerous madman, a monster, a tyrant that brought his tragic end upon himself. Lies! My father was a victim of weaklings in his council. Lackwitz, who failed him in his hour of need and let the rebellion spin out of control. But it was not enough. The royal army was crushed at the Battle of the Trident. It was there the valiant Rhaegar met Robert in single combat. But the gods betrayed him. And he had the crown prince up his hand. As the field of fire had marked the end of the Andal centuries before, the Battle of the Trident seemed to herald the end of the dragon kings. When word reached the capital of my brother Rhaegar's death, my father Aerys moved to protect me as I was the survivor. Can I just say something? Babe, are you sure that we want to root for Daenerys? Because she's gone from a crazy family, bro. Yeah, but you know why from the pure blood, pure blood, pure blood lines. I mean, I ain't trying to be mean, but I've seen her staring off in the distance a few times. Yeah, but they're saying it makes them a little cuckoo because they'd be reproducing that ancestral jump. I don't know, bro, that's just, it's just, every time I hear them talk, they just stink. I just feel like they just don't smell good because they're nasty. They just do too much of that. Incessant air. Sister love, yeah, ooh. He sent me to the island fortress of Dragonstone, along with my mother, Queen Rhaela, who was great with child. But as my father, my king, Ares Targaryen, prepared to defend his throne to the bitter end. Little did he know of the horrors and betrayals that awaited him and our family. Yes, Robert Baratheon again. Hours is the fury. These are the words of the black stag of Baratheon. A battle cry echoed throughout the land in rebellion when I, Robert Baratheon, the first of his name, seized the iron throne from the mad king, Ares Targaryen, ending a dynasty nearly 300 years old. House Baratheon was born in the wars of conquest when Aegon the dragon invaded Westeros. Aegon sent his commander, Ares Baratheon, to take Storm's end. Argilac the arrogant, the last of the Storm kings, foolishly left the safety of his stronghold and met the Baratheon warlord in open battle. Argilac was soundly defeated and Ares took his lands, his holdings, and his daughter. Ares was said to be a half-brother to Aegon Targaryen. If this were true, a little blood of the dragon mingled with that of the stag in those days. The seat of House Baratheon is Storm's end, a legendary keep raised in the age of heroes. It overlooks Shipbreakers Bay, where legend has it that Durran the first Storm king raised the keep with the aid of Bran the Builder of House Stark, forging a centuries-long connection with the Stormlands and the North. After Aegon's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, the Baratheons remained loyal enough to the crown while Targaryen kings came and went, but loyalty has its limits. Absolutely. When Rhaegar Targaryen, Ares' vile son and heir, abducted Liana Stark, I betrothed my beloved. It was time to act. We raised our banners, Baratheon Stark, Jon Arryn and the Tullys, united in rebellion against Rhaegar and his father, the Mad King. We were victorious and took the Iron Throne. That bit of dragon blood in my veins came in well, as it made me a distant relation to the Targaryen dynasty blood of my long-lost ancestor, Ares. The truth of it is, I took it. I sit on the Iron Throne. Right, so he wasn't the rightful heir. From the Red Keep. He wasn't the rightful heir at all. He made it seem like he's sitting on that throne doing something. He's sitting on that throne drinking something. Robert Baratheon's victory at the Trident was a turning point in the war for the Iron Throne. While it was clear the gods were smiling on the rebel forces, Ares to Gary and still held the Red Keep at King's Landing. As Robert was wounded and unable to ride, it was up to Eddard Stark to make for the capital and force the Mad King to give up the throne. Lord Stark reached the city gates to find that Tywin Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock, had already sacked the city in Robert's main. House Lannister had remained neutral up to this point, ignoring requests for help from both the crown and the rebels. Now that Robert's eventual victory was assured, it seemed Lord Tywin had finally chosen the side. Lord Eddard was horrified by what he saw when he entered the city. Homes looted and burned, women raped, scores of innocent citizens killed. Disgusted, he led his force up Visenya's hill to the Red Keep. Upon entering the throne room, he found King Ares lying in a pool of blood, dead by the hand of his own sworn king's guard, Jaime Lannister, who sat brazenly upon the throne. He was sitting on it. Demanding to know the whereabouts of Queen Rayla, Lord Eddard was informed the queen and her son, Viserys, had been spirited away into Dragonstone before the Lannisters arrived. But other members of the royal family were not as fortunate. Elia Martell of Dorne, who was the wife of Prince Rhaegar, had been raped and murdered by Sir Krigor Clegane on Lord Tywin's orders. Oh, we know him. Sir Krigor and his men had also butchered Rhaegar's young children. When Robert was well enough to reach the capital, Lord Eddard demanded the Lannisters answer for their heinous crimes. Robert refused and sent himself to relieve the Baratheon stronghold of Storm's End, which was still under siege by forces loyal to the crown. Wow. Whatever words passed between the two old friends are known only to them. But Lord Eddard is said to have left King's Landing in anger. Later, when Robert was crowned, he appointed John Aaryn as hand of the king. Lord Aaryn's first order of business was to broker a truce with the Martells of Dorne, who were outraged by the brutal murder of Princess Elia and her children. Following the death of Lyonna Stark, who had been betrothed to Robert, Houses Baratheon and Lannister were joined in marriage when the new king took Tywin Lannister's eldest daughter, Cersei, as his queen. As for Eddard Stark, he returned to his stronghold of Winterfell, forever haunted by his sister's death, and the shameful way that Robert had secured his throne. Dane has jacked up. Mm-hmm. Let's hear his perspective. Our rebellion to succeed, King's Landing had to be taken forcefully. No one was foolish enough to believe that Aerys was gonna hand his crown over peacefully. The mad King's reign needed to end. What Tywin Lannister's forces did was unfortunate, but it was necessary to secure the Iron Throne and bring peace and justice to the Seven Kingdoms. My glorious victory at the Trident left me... Glorious. But I sent my personal maester to attend to Sir Barristan Selmy instead. His wounds were more severe. Even though Sir Barristan was a member of Aerys' Kingsguard and fought on the opposing side, that man's bravery and loyalty was something to behold. But this meant my wounds would take longer to heal and I couldn't ride to King's Landing myself. I sent the one man I trusted over anyone else in this world Ed Arn. and it's dark in my place. Oh, he calls him Ned, because that's his man. Had I been able to ride, perhaps I could have reached King's Landing sooner and prevented some of the violence that occurred when the Lannisters entered the city. Still, what Lord Tywin did was for the greater good. Even what happened to Princess Elia and her children. Babies or no, theirs was the same cursed blood that flowed within the Mad King's veins. They were dragon-spawn and couldn't be allowed to survive. What would they grow to be? Loyal subjects. Geez, I don't know, bro. I'm glad I don't have to be a politician in this world. He and I had our first major fight over the deaths of the Targaryen children. Ned called it murder. Murder. It was war. It was war. Didn't they say that earlier in the season, baby? Lord Stark demanded that the Lannisters be held responsible for that. Weren't they kind of having this conversation when they were talking about what they were gonna do about the Targaryen children? But he was, I think you referred to them as the children, but they're grown basically. But no, they're different children now. Well, they're older. But no, it's different children now because now it was them and then now the one he was trying to kill now is Daenerys because he was trying to kill her before she had a son. But what I'm saying is like, yeah, but that's what Ned's sitting there, basically. Okay, so Robert's like, we have to kill the Targaryen. So he's saying we have to kill Daenerys. And Ned's like, who are you to quiver at like a child? Basically, like reverse. They're saying she's just a little girl, basically, is what he's saying. And basically, Ned's passionate about it because he's seen Robert make this mistake before. Yeah, so that's why that answer was so strong for him. And maybe a part of why Robert didn't sit on the throne with like grace and dignity and stuff is because he knows in order what he basically, he knows what he did to conquer that throne. And so he just sits on it, but it's almost like he's not proud of it. He just drinks it away because he knows the atrocities that he had to commit to sit on that throne. Right, he had to do so much to get there. Right, yeah, yeah. Crimes, was it a crime to put an end to a family of lunatics born of incest? Well, you hear him, Josephine. I still won't blame Tywin. Instead, I sent Ned Stark south to finish off the remaining Targaryen loyalists. It was only Liana Stark's death that reconciled us. Ned had lost his sister. I had lost my betrothed and beloved. We shared that sad bond together, Ned and I. Through it, our friendship was made strong again. As for the Mad Kings, make sense, I mean, as those that were able to scurry away in the face of my fear with a dragon stone, right? Somewhere across the narrow sea. They had best stay there. If they ever set foot in Westeros again, they were in the freesteadies justice. When they got taken away, though, they went to Dragonstone. That's where they took Viserys. They got to get laid dead on the banks of the Trident. His royal army shattered and in retreat. The days of the dragon kings were clearly numbered. Until that moment, it would have been foolish to commit castley rock to either the crown or the rebellion. What would our family have to gain in supporting a raving madman? Or in entering a crusade to put Robert Baratheon on the Iron Throne, but chaos benefits no one. It was time for House Lannister to do what it could to ensure a return of peace and prosperity to the land. I, Tywin Lannister, brought 10,000 Lannister troops to the gates of King's Landing in order to bring the bloodshed to a quick and decisive conclusion. King Aerys had been sending ravens for months, begging for my support to end the uprising. In a way, his pleas had been answered. As I had suspected, Aerys opened the city gates and welcomed my men. Our plan was to crush Aerys remaining banaman and remove the remnants of the royal family as quickly and efficiently as possible. Any alternative meant years of further war and of fragmented seven kingdoms. Our means were bloody, but the results speak for themselves. As for Aerys, it is true he met his fate at the hands of my son. Aerys had kept Jaime close during the rebellion, thinking himself clever in keeping my son as a hostage should I decide to pledge support to the rebel cause. This proved to be his greatest mistake. But when the time came, Jaime did his duty as a Lannister. And drove his sword into the mad king's back. With that, Robert Baratheon's crown was secured. The new king recognized our role in his ascension to the throne. Just as he recognized how useful the might and riches of Castile Rock would be if he wanted to keep it. There you go. To that end, I offered my daughter Cersei as his queen. Jaime's a hostage right now. That's crazy. You've run this same offer years earlier. Perhaps things would have worked out differently. Everyone in this whole universe is a hostage that way. The dragon queen of the seven kingdoms. It was a new day. The dragon was vanquished and the seven kingdoms would thereafter belong to the stag and the lion. So I'm really starting to see that, when you think about our globe, if all hell breaks loose, there are places you can go and hide. Like if you're that guy in this universe, I'm really starting to see that. The only thing you really have to hang on to is your family name. You just better hope they're in power because there appears to be really nowhere to go. It just seems really small. So there's nowhere to go where they won't find you. And the only other option that I can think of is to maybe try to escape north. But that's really cold and there's wildlings there. I think from all that, I just learned that Taiwan is more important than we think than we know. Historically? No, Taiwan literally, in a way he could have took like the throne and he didn't. He's like, yeah, Jamie or Taiwan and they just made peace and said by letting Robert and Cersei get married. Right. Like, so I'm wondering why he did that. You know what I'm saying? Maybe because Robert had a big army. No, maybe. Maybe it wasn't as simple as just, oh, if I sit on it, it's mine. You know, maybe that would have cost a lot of bloodshed and a lot of treasure. And you know, there's just a lot of politics that it would be really hard to understand. I mean, you could live in that time, you could live in this reality and you could be absorbed in this and involved in this every single day and you could still not be able to comprehend the politics that would go into all these decisions and stuff that were made. So I'm in a lot of fun with this. Yeah, me too. The battle of the Trident may have been an important victory for the usurper. Is that Jamie? Yeah. We have the treachery and barbarism of Taiwan Lannister that sealed the fate of the Targaryen dynasty. No, it might not be. My father, King Aerys, had ever been a friend to the lions of the rock. Aerys graciously brought Taiwan to court, making him the youngest hand of the king in history. Oh. He gave him power. He gave him respect. He made it possible for Taiwan to restore House Lannister to glory. Aerys and Taiwan governed side by side for 20 prosperous years. Still, when the usurper called his banners in rebellion, Taiwan Lannister ignored his king's pleas for help and stayed holed up in his strongholds of Casterly Rock. In time, my brother, Prince Rhaegar, was dead. The realm was in turmoil and the usurper's forces were said to be riding for king's landing. What a glorious sight it must have been when a force of 10,000 Lannister men showed up at the gate of the capital with Lord Taiwan at their head, pledging support to his beleaguered king. Aerys opened the gates for his old friend. Instead, Lannister and his men proceeded to plunder and destroy the city that he had called home for decades. As the capital was ravaged and its people terrorized, Jaime Lannister, son of Lord Taiwan, proved every bit as treacherous. He killed my father, the king, at the foot of the Iron Throne. The Lannisters entered the Red Keep and Taiwan ordered the deaths of the rest of the royal family. It is said Princess Rhaenys was found cowering under her father's bed and put to the sword. She was only a child. As for Rhaegar's widow, Elia, she was forced to watch as Lannister Thugs dashed her baby son's head against a wall before being raped and murdered herself. As I was the heir to my father's throne, I had been spirited away to Dragonstone with my mother, Queen Rhaela, who was with child. As a raging summer storm batted the island fortress and destroyed the Targaryen fleet as it lay at anchor, my sister, Daenerys, was born. My mother, the queen, died giving birth. Wow. Now, some 17 years later, the rightful king still lives in exile. But a day of reckoning is coming. I will sail west as Aegon the dragon did centuries before. I will take back my father's throne with blood and fire. And I will punish the treacherous dogs who sought to destroy my family and the people shall rejoice. That's crazy, Rhaegar. From his perspective, you know. In the snow-capped mountains of the moon, standing high above the rich lands of the Vale, stands the Eyrie, a storied and impregnable fortress said to have been built by the legendary mountain kings in the age of heroes. It is the stronghold of House Aeron, one of the oldest noble families in Westeros. Their sigil, a soaring falcon over a crescent moon, their words as high as honor. The Aeron's are direct descendants of Andal invaders who sailed across the narrow sea and came ashore at the fingers. According to legend, Sir Arthas Aeron, known as the Winged Knight, soared through the sky atop a giant falcon, landing on the peak of the highest mountain where he defeated the Gryphon King in battle. It was the Andal's first great victory over the first men, and Sir Arthas was duly rewarded. He was declared king of the mountain and the Vale, and the region was renamed the Vale of Aeron. Thousands of years later, Aegon the Conqueror arrived in Westeros. House Aeron bent the knee to Aegon and his dragons and were allowed to maintain the control of the region as Lord's paramount of the Vale and wardens of the east. Over the centuries, House Aeron remained loyal to the Targaryen dynasty until Lord Jon Aeron joined with Houses Baratheon and Stark in rebellion against Mad King Aerys. Upon winning the Iron Throne, Robert named Lord Jon Hand of the King, a position he held until his mysterious death. Poison. Oh, that's why? So lucky, bro. Yeah. Right. According to the legend, Lann using only his wits won Castile Rock from the noble House of Castile during the Age of Heroes. The Lannisters reigned as kings of the Rock for thousands of years and worked to make it the envy of the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Our time as kings ended, however, when Aegon Targaryen, otherwise known as Aegon the Conqueror, arrived in Westeros with his army. The last king of the Rock, King Lauren Lannister, joined forces with King Mern Gardner, the king of the Reach. Together with 60,000 men, they met the Targaryen host in open blood. That's when they got torched. That's when they got torched, though. Right. Aegon unleashed all three of his dragons, slaughtering 4,000 men at what came to be known as the Field of Fire. Yeah. King Mern himself was burned alive that day and House Gardner turned to ash with him. Seeing both the threat and opportunity, the Targaryens represented. Lauren wisely surrendered and aided Aegon in his further conquest of Westeros. The Lannisters were thus appointed Lord Paramount of the Westerlands and Wardens of the West. Titles we hold to this day. Let us be clear, though. It is neither luck nor royal favor that makes our house prosperous. Okay. There have been times in our history where some have thought us weak, lazy or opulent. Right. My father, Titus Lannister, nearly bankrupted our house with his poor investments and allowed himself to be mocked openly at court. When our vassal, the reigns of Castamere, dared to rise up against the Lannisters, they learned how dangerous it can be to taunt a lion. I, Tywin Lannister, led the assault on Castamere to put down this rebellion. I made an example of them to anyone who doubts our might. They even made a quaint song about the fates of the reigns of Castamere. So, his day was a pumpkin away. That's crazy. Maybe that's why it's so hard. Today, the golden lion of Lannister is rightly admired and feared throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Our words are, hear me roar. But there are other words that should be remembered when casting the Lannister. Lannister always faces it right. You're a smart man. You're a smart man. But it's really hear me roar. Starks of Windfall trace their descent to the first men in the Age of Heroes. The family's founder was Brandon the Builder, who, in the aftermath of the long night, helped establish the Night's Watch. Legend has it he enlisted the Age of Giants and the powerful magic of the Children of the Forest to raise them up. It shuts that wall. Which has protected the realm for generations. He went on to build the ancestral seat of Winterfell and range as the first king in the north. The Starks reigned as kings for thousands of years, even withstanding the invasion of the Andals. As the southern kingdoms fell and the Children of the Forest were driven away, the north stood strong, maintaining its religious customs and its way of life. Eventually, the reign of the Kings of Winter came to an end with the coming of Aegon the Conqueror. After Aegon and his dragons destroyed the combined armies of the Reach and the Rock at the Field of Fire, King Torren Stark bent the knee and swore fealty to the Targaryen dynasty in order to spare the destruction of Winterfell and his people. He was forever after known as the King who Nelt as a reward for his submission. Aegon named Torren, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. The Starks take great pride in their history and traditions. Can I pause? Yeah. So guys, just one thing that popped into my mind, so I see a parallel. The King who Nelt and in a way, Eddard Stark is sort of like the Warden who infest, basically. So they both lost their honor. They lost their honor to save people they loved. Yeah. Right. Like that's what he did too. In a way. You see that parallel? Yeah. Two noble houses that still keeps the old gods. The sacred Weirwood tree limbs large in Winterfell's godsward. It's ancestral sword, Ice, was forged in ancient Valeria and has been passed down through the generations. Wasn't that Ned sword? Stark remained steadfast in its support of the Night's Watch. Even as the once illustrious order has formed on hard times. Much like their sigil, the Grey Diowulf, how Stark is the stuff of legend in the North and throughout the Seven Kingdoms. And their family words, Winter is coming. That's very vague. That's a reminder of their beginnings in the wake of the long night and the grim portents of things to come. That's our sigil, Winter is coming. Winter is coming. It's just like a- Oh, Pontus, we can't watch this. Chill, chill. Thank you guys so much for rocking with us. Thank you guys so much for all the support we've got on this series. It's nuts. I mean, we're just gonna be 100% honest with you guys. Our Patreon has tripled just because we were watching Game of Thrones and we're just here for it. That's why we have to do it right. We gotta watch this. So we gotta know about it. Everyone keeps saying like Game of Thrones is such a great strategy to blow up your channel, blah, blah, blah. I can honestly say we didn't start watching this because it was a strategy to blow up our channel. It's just really popular. It's what we voted and they voted for it. Yeah, they just voted for it in a poll. And it was like five people at the time voted for it. So it was like, that's how it won our poll. Like imagine now. Right, yeah. Yeah, we'd have like so many more votes. So anyways, man, thank you guys so much for the support. I just wanted to say that one more time. Okay, YouTube, so that was the histories and lore. We said pretty much everything that there is to say for the most part while we were reacting to this. And honestly, babe, I feel like now that we've watched that I can say that I feel like I'm sorta in the Game of Thrones sphere now. Before, I was just like a rookie to it. Now I sorta feel like I have a really good understanding of like the first season what we just watched. Because it goes so deep. It goes so deep. It's so well put together. Yes. What did you think about that? I think all those little references that we've seen throughout the season one, of course, there's so many little references and this is like bringing it to life, which is like exactly what you would want. Like exactly what you would want to see. So I really appreciated that. I said it even in the video, even all the references, but we fought together in the so-and-so, you know, I can't say it right off the top of my head, but when we go back and read the references, it'll mean so much more. Like, you know. Cause we know the Battle of the Trident now, like we've heard that reference a lot. Now we know that's where Robert was just a straight G. Robert was up here just, and all we knew Robert. And chess played so hard that diamonds were falling. And making it our Ruby River or whatever it was called. Ruby, whatever. You know what I'm talking about. You know what I appreciated about this the most? It took this really big, vast world where I was looking at this world, guys, and I was seeing the small amount of like families and sigils and stuff, but I was, basically, I was taking that and I was projecting. So I was projecting that the backstory and all this was so much bigger and more like grand than it was, which, you know, isn't a bad thing. But what I'm trying to say is it's actually a lot more, it's a lot simpler to understand than I thought it would be. And so in a way, the story isn't that complex. They actually took it all the way to the beginning. They broke it down all the way to the first men and they broke it down. From all perspectives of the houses, which was great. Right, yeah. But I liked that a lot. They made it so simple to really understand the politics of what's going on in this world and even looking at the map, just understanding how small of a sliver of Westeros is, you know, and it really explains why it's so important that these houses lean on each other. It's why there's such an emphasis on loyalty and all that. So I'm just glad we watched. And you kind of see the Lannisters are at the root of it all. Yeah, yeah. Kinda like they have been. You know, like in real life, you know, they say, oh, civilization started 8,000 years ago, whatever the case may be. And then, you know, there's like more of like the fringe area where you can say, well, no, actually, there was a cataclysm 13,500 years ago and maybe there was civilizations before. You know, we can have those debates and stuff, but in this world, it seems like civilization sort of started and then it just kind of like ramped up, dude. You know what I'm saying? Like from the beginning, it seems like there wasn't really much of like an introductory period. There was the first men, you know, there was the children of the forest and then the first men and then. The endos come together. They met each other and discovered war, it seems like. And nothing's really changed. So I guess in this timeline, we're sort of at the beginning, but you know what? I would love to see. I would really like to see a series based on the age of the heroes. I think that's what it's supposed to be, right? The House of Dragons, cause it said through, I think House of Dragons. I thought that happened right before Robert Trebellion. I thought the age of heroes was right before that. Yeah. It was ancient times. Well, no, Aegon's the one who allowed the age of heroes, all those people, he's the one that allowed them to have all that land. It was Aegon. So Aegon was 300 years back. I don't know if that's the House of Dragons, but if it is, that is so cool. Absolutely. But I think for me, the coolest part about all of this is just like, I don't know, all the lore is interesting to me. I took like four pages and notes of how interesting the jump was. You wanna show the notes before we get off? We're gonna be posting these on Patreon. Just if you guys are interested, some of you guys appreciate it. So she went basically from here, this is part of the flip. She's got here, here, here, and you went in. Here, here, here, here, here. So with that being said, Mrs. October definitely did her best to pay attention and we do have the notes, which these are really nice because these are really good to be able to reference. When we're watching these episodes in the future, guys, just so you know, if you ever do see us looking down, we do have our notes. So if you ever see us flip, just in case we wanna remember a name or catch a reference point. Like I have seen a couple that have a really fancy fancy board and we just kinda like, I just can take notes and I can edit and that's about the best I can do, you guys. But I really do like their board. This is really cool. This lore is incredible. I didn't realize this show was so well thought out and complex as it is. I see why so many of you guys are really passionate about the writing and basically the intellect that the show has to offer. And as you should be. Yeah, as you guys definitely should be. Thank you guys so much for hanging out with us. It has been The Octobers. As y'all already know, like, subscribe, hit a simple Patreon if you want even more content. We have everything over there, unedited, uncut and completely synced up. Got anything else you wanna add? Nope, it's been a blast. All right guys, we'll see y'all on season two. Let's go.