Since these new faces have already had their stories told by George R. R. Martin, that is one question that can be answered right now. Needless to say, there will be spoilers as we explain what terrible (or just tragic) lives and deaths lie ahead, and what deaths the books revealed for the likes of Ser Duncan, Egg, Maekar, Lyonel Baratheon, and more in the future canon of the Game of Thrones timeline.
Ser Duncan The Tall
Image via HBO
There is still nothing known about the life of Dunk (Peter Claffey) prior to his time as an orphan in Flea Bottom, and only slightly more about the years preceding his debut in George R. R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight. Thankfully, his later adventures with Egg confirm he lives a singular life traveling across the lands of Westeros, yet to be told in even more planned novellas. And when Prince Aegon is finally called upon to take the throne, he brings Ser Duncan along with him to not only join, but eventually lead the Kingsguard as its Lord Commander.
Martin has never confirmed the events or timeline of Duncan’s promotion (roughly two decades after the Tourney at Ashford Meadows), but it’s assumed Ser Duncan served his king loyally until the “tragedy at Summerhall.” The inferno which broke out at the Targaryens’ summer palace is shrouded in secrecy, but until recently, Ser Duncan was presumed dead along with Aegon and his family. Now with word that Ser Duncan survived Summerhall, the end of his story is as mysterious as the beginning.
Prince Aegon V Targaryen
Image via HBO
Having served as squire to Ser Duncan—whether or not his father gave him permission—the young Prince Aegon (Dexter Sol Ansell) would grow into a man completely aware of the values and struggles of the smallfolk of Westeros. After proving himself to be a capable knight in battle, Aegon chose to stand apart from his royal forebears, marrying Betha Blackwood for love, and starting a family with no thought of ever sitting upon the Iron Throne. But fate had other plans.
When multiple Targaryen heirs died in battle or illness, the highest officers were forced to select an heir. And so, “Aegon the Unlikely” was named King of Westeros, making all his best character traits both gifts and curses alike. His reforms brought justice to the poorest of Westeros, while losing the loyalty of the nobility. Aegon’s sons also married for love, not alliance, weakening Targaryen power. Eventually seeking to hatch dragon eggs to restore his authority, the Summerhall fire erupted, killing the 33 year-old Aegon, his wife, and his firstborn son, Duncan.
Prince Valarr Targaryen
Following the death of Baelor Targaryen during the Trial of Seven, audiences get their best look at his oldest son, Prince Valarr (Oscar Morgan). Having suddenly become the new heir to the Iron Throne, as the oldest son of King Daeron II’s oldest son, Valarr faces an uncertain future. Thankfully, audiences don’t need to wonder what kind of ruler Valarr would grow into.
In a grim moment echoing the historic inspiration for the Game of Thrones universe, sickness and plague proved to be the greatest threat in Westeros. Within a year of his father’s death, “The Great Spring Sickness” would claim the lives of King Daeron II, Valarr, his younger brother Matarys, and countless thousands across the nine realms.
Prince Maekar Targaryen
Perhaps the most interesting member of the Targaryen line at this time, the events which follow The Hedge Knight kept the hard times rolling for Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell). Following the imminent death of his father to the plague, Maekar’s older brother Aerys was named to the throne, as expected. But when Aerys named his bastard uncle Brynden Rivers a.k.a. ‘Bloodraven’ as Hand of the King instead of Maekar, a bitter rift erupted between the two (with many, including Maekar, anticipating the position would be his by right).
Maekar’s furious withdrawal to Summerhall was understandable, but in Westeros, anything can change. The decade which followed would see not only the death of Aerys, but of the remaining brother Rhaegel (along with his heirs), raising Maekar to the Iron Throne against all odds. Dying in battle against a rebellion some 12 years later, Maekar’s reign generally brought peace and stability to the peoples of Westeros.
Prince Aerion Targaryen
There is no question as to the character of Prince Aerion “Brightflame” (Finn Bennett) in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, depicting the proud son of Maekar Targaryen as a cruel, entitled, and vainglorious royal. And while the Ashford tourney might have been a transformative trial for many present, Prince Aerion was not one of them. Nor did his time sent East educate him as his father hoped.
Presumably becoming ‘next in line’ to the Iron Throne during his father’s reign, Aerion proved his arrogance knew no limits by attempting to turn himself into a dragon by drinking wildfire (the flammable green chemical which set Blackwater Bay aflame in Game of Thrones). It killed him instead, and his lone son was simply ignored when a new heir was selected following the death of King Maekar.
Ser Raymun Fossoway
One character catapulted into a completely different life by Ser Duncan’s story, the young squire Raymun Fossaway (Shaun Thomas) would create his own branch of House Fossaway, as depicted in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Unlike the novels, the show also reveals the woman with whom Raymun begins House Fossoway of New Barrel, his bride ‘Lady Rowan’ (Rowan Robinson), a new addition to canon.
The immediate relevance of the new, green House Fossaway isn’t documented in Martin’s writings, meaning no death is recorded for Raymun (perhaps a good sign of a life well-lived). But his virtue lives on well into the future, as affectionate and upstanding “green-apple Fossaway” descendants appear everywhere from King Joffrey’s wedding, to the Night’s Watch alongside Jon Snow.
Lord Lyonel Baratheon
Image via HBO
Famously known as “The Laughing Storm” due to his unique fighting attitude, Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) would grow in stature, glory, and popularity in the years which follow his meeting with Ser Duncan. Unfortunately, this would all change when King Aegon V took to the throne. After all, he did warn in the TV series that “a war is coming.”
Upon rising to the seat of power as head of House Baratheon and Lord of Storm’s End, Lyonel would agree to marry his daughter to Prince Duncan, Aegon’s oldest son. When this arrangement was broken, Lyonel renounced his oaths to the throne, proclaiming himself ‘Storm King,’ the ancient title held by the ruler of the stormlands (one of the Seven Kingdoms). Lyonel’s rebellion was ended in a trial by combat against Ser Duncan himself, restoring peace, and allowing Baratheon to quietly die at some point during King Aegon’s rule.
Prince Daeron Targaryen
Image via HBO
If it seemed like Prince Daeron (Henry Ashton) would amount to little outside of his affection for drinking and women, then that is absolutely the case. The oldest son of Maekar Targaryen would perish prior to his brother Aerion. And while their maester brother Aemon would officially claim Daeron’s dreams of dragons, bloodshed, and doom eventually sapped him of life, the medical claim that he died of a sexually transmitted disease seems just as likely.
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