Jacaerys Velaryon would make a terrible king.
(VERY MINIMAL SPOILERS FOR S2 FINALE)
Arguably, three of the best Targaryen kings are Aegon I, Jaeharys I, and Aegon V. These kings are widely loved by the fan base (true Jaeharys was a bad father but he was still a good king), but what do they have in common?
None were raised as kings. Aegon I was raised thinking he would be heir to Lord Aerion of Dragonstone and nothing more. That changed when he got all petty over Argilac Durrandon (or because of some magic prophecy that didn’t even come to , but I like F&B’s explanation better), and he conquered Westeros. He was a good king and also approachable to the small folk, and while we don’t know much about him we know he was widely loved, arguably the most of every Targaryen King.
Jaeharys was also not raised as a King. The third son of Aenys, his brother Aegon the Uncrowned’s throne was usurped by Maegor I, The Cruel. Jaeharys was no raised as a king, but when he finally got the crown, he ruled well, was loved by almost all the Lords, and is ed as the Conciliator, one of the best kings in Westerosi history. Also, I believe the longest reigning too but I’m not 100% sure of that.
Aegon V is called “The Unlikely” because he was a 4th son of a 4th son. He was never expected to become King, so he spent a lot of childhood around commoners, as a squire. But eventually he became king and was “well loved by the small folk”.
What do all of these 3 great Kings have in common? They weren’t raised as kings, instead as lords or even in hiding. They also all had good relationships with small folk.
Now let’s look at Jace. He clearly has some beef with bastards, despite being one himself. Sure, Ulf is kind of a douche (albeit an endearing one), but Hugh and Addam are performing their duties with respect and reverence, yet Jace still hates them. Jacerys, do we need to remind you who else is a bastard? His entitledness and arrogance, in my opinion, make him more Joffrey than Jaeharys, closer to Aerion than any Aegon.
I think if Jace were to become King, he would most likely not be liked due to the fact that he looks down on the small folk. I could imagine him inadvertently starting a riot if someone threw shit at him, just like Joffrey did.
Comments (20)
Rhaenyra decreased his chances at legitimacy by giving bastards Dragon's. His defense about being a true Targaryen was hom taming and riding a dragon but that fell out the window when other bastards got dragons too who were also Lowborn. I'd be pretty upset too to be honest.
He’s gonna be dead if his family doesn’t win the win the way anyway, it’s a sort of nothing to lose scenario
Reply to: Birdman
He could be dead either way and in his legacy after death he would lose legitimacy to those who were common born. And there's always more to lose than just ur life. And they are going to learn that later on.
Jacaerys is upset about the bastards for the very reason he told Rhaenyra, and it is valid. Here is Jace, has dark hair, dark eyes, is called a Velaryon but looks like a Strong. He listens to the whispers and had ONE argument he was able to make to attest to his Targaryen lineage and by extension his claim to the Iron Throne later in his life and that was Vermax. By giving three bastards three big ass dragons, Rhaenyra made it so that later on when Jace would have had to make his arguments, people would've been able to use the fact of "bastards have had dragons before"
That’s definitely a good point, but if his family were to lose the war, he’d be dead. It’s a question of potentially losing legitimacy vs losing your life
Reply to: Birdman
That's a good point too. This doesn't really work as evidence that he would be a bad King though. With the correct Small Council and a good Hand, and a compatible queen and an heir of his own, he could end up being ed as the "Strong King"lol
Reply to: 𝚉𝙴𝙴ⁱˢRHAEGAR
You’re right, this whole comment section got off topic about whether or not the dragonseeds are a good idea, when the point I was trying to make was about Jace’s disdain of the small folk
Yeah he'd suck
That last part is kinda crazy, Jace isn’t cruel and tbh, he isn’t wrong. The lowborn dragonseed idea is insane and basically EVERYONE around Rhaenyra was telling her that
Reply to: :bird: ⬛ Bloodraven :bird: ⬛
Yeah, I get why she did it but I more so understand why Jace is mad. His claim is basically nonexistent now LOL
Reply to: 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗗
I also think it's just a terrible idea in general if Jace was legit either way since the idea of giving this worlds equivalent to nuclear weapons to people that are commoners who have no house ties, no oaths to honor, people she doesn't know and people who have no self control that she's aware of is just a really dumb idea. I think Jace needs to be more firm in telling his mother she's being stupid. And those of us who have read the books knows where that stupidity brings her. But even if she didn't have the foresight of the stories told she should be smart enough to know giving dragons to people she doesn't know is just stupid on so many levels
Reply to: :bird: ⬛ Bloodraven :bird: ⬛
Yeahhh, she really should’ve tried to keep going the noble blood route to find dragonriders but one way or another she had to get riders or there was no chance she was winning the war