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Notice ‘what’ not ‘who’ in the subject. We know their names and titles. We know their history as a large part of TWoIaF is dedicated to the dynasty. But do we really? Why then a new trilogy from GRRM, Fire and Blood? Why bring Targaryens into the books in the first place? To answer that I will address the ‘what’: What narrative role do they serve? Do they serve the plot and how … or instead the plot serves them? How do you explain them to somebody in simple terms?
This is how: Targaryens are a breed of super-humans. They procreate to maintain excellency in all aspects of warfare. As cool as supermans are, well - they are not, not for GRRM. That’s not the reason they are in the books. There are two key reasons:
GRRM wants us to think how never-losing war demi-gods must feel and come to realization - not happy.
Genetics: you can’t just target only the genetic traits you want, they come with unintended consequences.
The two are intertwined: maintaining that rare pool of genes became possible only due to mechanisms that kill off some normal human feelings like love. Here are some observations that convinced me and might convince you if you give them a fair consideration.
The last chapter of ADwD, Daenerys. I view that chapter as a transformation: a certain biological, genetic mechanism turns on. Daenerys undergoes a metamorphism she doesn’t understand. Hence the references to all those biological details that I wouldn’t list: to emphasize that it is something unavoidable, like puberty. The reason, one of, why GRRM doesn’t want other Targaryens near Daenerys, plot-wise, is so that the transformation would come to her unexpected. Nobody could warn her. But at the end of the chapter she knows who she is: Fire and Blood, she is a Targaryen. The tragedy of that chapter, that sets the tone for the final two books, is that she has no choice in it. It is in her blood, she can not avoid doing things she is about to do.
We can hear the same motif in the last episode of Sn 6. Daenerys dismisses Daario and says that what terrifies her most is that she doesn’t feel anything. She doesn’t understand how it is possible. Marrying for love or marrying for duty - this is a common theme in medieval history and GRRM seems to follow it in Dany’s relations to Daario and Hizdahr. Traditionally it is often portrayed as heart vs. brain. (A certain variation of the phrase comes to mind from True Blood, Sn 1, but I digress.) GRRM creates a story where a character is genetically programmed at a certain stage to ignore her heart desire as well as reasoning of her brain and do what her blood commands. She leaves both Daario and Hizdahr.
Instead she finds Jon Snow. What Season 7 does very awkwardly, as many have observed, is portraying Daenerys’ falling for Jon Snow. The awkwardness is quite intentional, I argue: it is there to indicate that Daenerys doesn’t understand what is happening to her and why it is happening. She is drawn to Jon almost against her will. The last scene between them is better understood as neither of them quite comprehending what is happening, as if something commanded them to get together and they move like puppets, like sentient robots, unable to break the control, only capable of wondering ‘why’. Why are we doing this? Because their genetic code acts like salmon going hundreds of miles for procreation. Conceive a Targaryen from a Targaryen.
The famous ‘Targaryen incest’ theme. The aspect of that, something that GRRM wants us to realize, but not too soon, is that some Targaryens don’t do it because they want to, but because they have to. Not on conscience level, not through rational arguments as ensuring survival of the race, but simply because it is encoded in them.
Let’s switch from procreation to military aspects of the story. Clearly it plays a major role starting from Aegon - he is called the Conqueror. Obvious, right? To explain where I see less obvious implications I’d say: Targaryens conquer not because they want to, but because they have to - their genetic programming demands it. We can’t say that about Aegon as we don’t know: TWoIaF tells what Targaryens did, not why. There are, sadly, no Points of View in that less-than-wonderful book.
But we do have a Targaryen whose motivation we observe: Daenerys Stormborn. She really wants to take what is hers. Part of it is natural - an exile wanting to restore her rightful place and avenge. The book however takes the avenging part out of her hands. And when she does have a chance to take some revenge, for instance when meeting Tyrion or Jon, she doesn’t do it. So ‘avenging’ is not really what drives her. Then look at her companion: Jorah. He doesn’t seem to care about going home and claiming the Bear Island. He doesn’t care. GRRM makes a point: not every exile is hellbent on going home and claiming what is his. In her Mereen chapters Daenerys asks herself: why? Why do I feel like I have to go to Westeros and start a war? I have that luxury, I have power, why leave? Later she will understand why: because her blood leaves her no choice. Targaryens are programmed to wage war whether they want to or not.
Some of the observations I made here occured to me after I formulated the idea. The idea again being: Targaryens as superhumans and GRRM pointing out that it may not be as great as we think. Here is another prediction-verification: Targaryen with proper gene combination simply can not not win. Verification: plot-line of Season 7. Notice that in the beginning Daenerys listens to her adviser, Tyrion. In your first viewing you may have an impression that the point is that the plan was bad. That’s not really the point. What I see in Episodes 1, 2, 3 is that no matter the plan, it will not succeed till Daenerys takes hands-on (her dragon) approach and takes control of military decisions. Then she does and Lannister army burns.
A Targaryen can not lose. Daenerys’ storyline is about taking Westeros from rather disadvantageous position. She starts the books with no power. Even recently, on the show, in Sn 7, the writers intentionally create a situation that is very challenging for Daenerys. She loses two of her major allies. Let’s ignore the question of where Dorn’s army is and how two dead sand snakes equal the loss of Dorn. Clearly the book will explain what terrible things happened to the 20,000 (30?) spears waiting in the mountain passes. fAegon? Ironborn? Euron controlling the second dragon? Who knows. What matters is Daenerys finds herself losing. And then she lets it fly. Unleash not only her dragon but more importantly herself. Her inner ‘Fire and Blood’. For storm and destruction she came to this world, and that is what she does. She can not escape that.
So, what are Targaryens in terms of a football fan would understand? GRRM watches football, it is not a totally irrelevant analogy. Targaryens are genetic machine producing generations of Tom Bradys, unstoppable war machines. Maybe not every single time, but eventually and inevitably. Superhumans. The Overman of Nitzsche, perhaps. The idea of their storyline: it sucks to be a superman. Why? Because with awesome military abilities they inherit genes overpowering their humanity, their feelings, even love. A genetic machine wakes up in them and takes control. When it functions properly, of course. And often it doesn’t, and then we have the Unworthy, the Mad King, etc. It can not end good because it is terrible no matter whether Targaryen genetic code works or fails.
In a long list of Valyrians (who never lost a war as far as we can tell) or Targaryens, there is one obvious anomaly. A Targaryen of special brilliance who, somehow, managed to lose a war. How did Rhaegar achieve it? The point of this post is to continue on the idea how impossible it is for a Targaryen to lose … unless he really wants to. See https://fractal-affinity.com/got/c18/RhaegarTheDeceiver.html and the pages that follow where I argue that it was Rhaegar’s plan - to lose. I wouldn’t go as far as claiming he wanted to end the Targaryens, but apparently he somehow believed that TPtwP should grow without a father or a mother, unknown, and actively prepared his own defeat in the Robert’s Rebellion.
Also consider Weapons as Actors where I discuss Valyrian steel as having a mind of sort. Targaryens’ strength is based on genes that allow binding with dragon and interacting with Valyrian armor as a repository of tactical military knowledge. (There are other possibilities, see links.)
TLDR: It’s not too long, you can read it.