After this week’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode, many fans are wondering whether Egg is the Mad King as shown in Game of Thrones. The show revealed Egg to be a Targaryen. This has left so many viewers pondering whether he is the Mad King himself.
Here’s a brief explanation of who the Mad King was.
Is Egg the Mad King in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
No, Egg, also known as Aegon V Targaryen, is not the Mad King as seen in Game of Thrones. The Mad King was Aerys II Targaryen, and not Aegon. However, Aegon V was Aerys II’s grandfather.
Since the show has just begun, the squire is still known as Egg. However, later in the books, he comes to be known as Aegon the Unlikely. He marries Betha Blackwood, with whom he has five children. His second son, Jaehaerys II Targaryen, later succeeds him as king.
Jaehaerys II then marries Shaera Targaryen, continuing to keep the Targaryen bloodline pure. It was their firstborn, Aerys II Targaryen, who came to be known as the Mad King. While Aerys II started as a promising young king, he later descended into madness as a result of the Targaryen inbreeding.
Following Prince Rhaegar Targaryen’s alleged kidnapping of Lyanna Stark and Aerys’s execution of Brandon Stark, Robert began his rebellion against him. Near the end of the war, Tywin Lannister’s forces betrayed Aerys. It forced him to retreat within the Red Keep with Jaime Lannister by his side as his Kingsguard. However, Jaime later killed Aerys, slitting his throat on the steps of the hall, thus earning the name Kingslayer.
While the Mad King is often referred to in the original series, it is unlikely that he will appear in this show. The show aims at adapting the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, which take place long before the Mad King was born. Nonetheless, a clear lineage between Egg and the Mad King has been established.
