Comment on court of lies | currently being edited

  1. songofsapphire on Chapter 7 Fri 04 Aug 2023 03:32PM UTC

    I don't think canon Rhaegar was capable of loving anyone. He was melancholic and depressed and had to grow up in an environment where he had to suppress every emotion he had and this lead him to find a coping mechanism; given that the only reason of his existence is that prophecy, he probably hold on to that and eventually it became his downfall. I feel sorry for everyone except Robert -and Ned sometimes.

    I don't think Rhaegar was after the TPWWP prophecy with Lyanna because as you said; he was sure (while talking with Lyanna in secret) that it was Aegon. And he thought he and Lyanna would have a daughter, Visenya (which I think they did btw). He believed in two prophecies; one TPWWP which is Aegon, and the other one is the three-heads-of-the-dragon shit, I think he was trying to achieve that with her. This entire ice&fire thing might be related to it but Lyanna can be a complete random choice as well.

    He couldn't get an annulment, even if he would be the king. Not even Maegor, despite everything, managed to get that. Elia wasn't a mere lady like Ceryse Hightower, she was a princess with her own rights who gave two children (the heir to the throne) to the dynasty. It would not only be scandalous, but the war would happen anyways. And Rhaegar, as much as we know, does not sound like a man who would do this to her. By all accounts, they were friends and he trusted her enough to mention the prophecy despite them being married for like three years (neither Barristan nor JonCon knows about that, which says a lot). I think, since he planned to have a daughter, he would just go and legitimise her or something and Lyanna would be free for the rest of her life. I don't see an annulment or a second marriage -this would directly cause a war with the Faith and Rhaegar is supposed to be a lot smarter than that.

    Rhaenys being almost three when the time of the sack happens and her immediately running to Rhaegar's chambers means subconsciously she trusts her father -children that age don't trust easily so even this is enough to tell Rhaegar was a good father, at least for a while. And Jaime's dreams and visions also prove that. I don't think he was either delusional or dumb, but with time he became obsessed because he truly believed he was the saviour of the realm and this adds such a burden to the shoulders of a child and does affects his growth.

    I think after he crushed the rebellion, he was going to force Aerys to abdicate and start to rule as the regent so Aerys would not be in a position to harm Elia or Lyanna. And I think his plan did make sense. Kinslaing and kingslaying are mortal sins in this universe, even a spark of rumour would curse his entire reign so fixing everything with peace (while, yes seems like a cowardly move) made sense. This actually one of the subplots of this book :)

    I like Rhaegar -while he was a complete idiot at the end, I find him a very tragic figure because he did want to do good, he did want to save the realm and save humanity and did what he believed was true. His following all the wrong steps and bringing doom to the people he loved and wanted to protect is so very sad. But at the end of the day, neither he nor Robert or Ned are victims, perhaps not even Lyanna, since we don't know what truly has happened. Only Elia and the children.

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