Rhaegar update #6 (Patreon)

I've just restructured and rewritten much of the script, and added a sweet conclusion that ties things together in a really cool way. As a result, some bits and pieces were cut from the script, including this stuff about Robert which I thought you might like:

We’re told in Season 7 that the war, Robert’s Rebellion, “was built on a lie” – the lie that Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna. Presumably, this lie was started by Robert – maybe he knew that Lyanna chose Rhaegar over him, but he was so angry and proud that he lied to justify war. In the books, we’re told Robert closes “his eyes to things he would rather not see”, and forgets things he’d rather not remember. So it could fit his character to choose to believe that the woman he loved didn’t reject him, but was abducted.

You could argue that what really caused Robert's Rebellion was the execution of Brandon and Rickard Stark by King Aerys, and the demand of Ned and Robert's heads. But it's possible that Brandon's actions were caused by Robert's lie - maybe Robert told Brandon about the supposed rape, and that's why Brandon came so angrily to the Red Keep, shouting for Rhaegar to "come out and die". So maybe - just maybe - the show's assertion that "Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie" could be true-ish in the books as well as the show. However, you've also gotta take into account the actions of Rhaegar...

Just like discussions of the cause of WWI and WWII, you can often just keep going further back into the chain of events that led to something happening without really ever pinpointing a "cause"... As Tyrion thinks:

It all goes back and back, Tyrion thought, to our mothers and fathers and theirs before them. We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us, and one day our own children will take up our strings and dance on in our steads

Anyway, this Rhaegar video is going really well, one of the better ASX vids probably. It'll be about 15 minutes long, and will be done in about 3-4 days.

Cheers!

ASX