While House of the Dragon has so far done a good job of giving fantasy fans some entertaining television again, it is no secret that the ending of Game of Thrones hurt the brand’s goodwill. The entire final two seasons of Game of Thrones are widely hated for all the rushed, out of character conclusions that we got. And the sad thing is, even with George R.R. Martin still not having published any new books that could have been drawn upon, his latest book did have a subplot that could have saved the ending of Game of Thrones involving the young Aegeon Targaryen.
Young Griff
When adapting A Song of Ice and Fire to the screen, the writers obviously had to cut content from the books when many of them are around a thousand pages long. However, they got a bit too liberal with cuttings plot lines that they apparently did not see the relevance of. That includes the storyline of Young Griff–a supposed Targaryen backed by Varys who undoubtedly would have shaken up the ending of Game of Thrones.
We don’t meet Young Griff until 2011’s A Dance with Dragons, the most recent entry to Martin’s fantasy series. By the end of the novel his forces have taken control of Griffin’s Roost, with plans to lay siege to Storm’s End.
Varys Wants Young Griff To Take Over Before Daenerys Can
Many fan theorists believe that Young Griff is actually a fake Targaryen that Varys is helping so that Westeros can be liberated before Daenerys’ arrival. That way, Varys has a “rightful heir” to the throne that he can puppeteer, unlike Dany. So, the first major difference to this alternate ending of Game of Thrones is that before Dany even gets to Westeros, Young Griff and his army will likely get there first and wipe out the Lannisters.
Allies Until Daenerys Learns The Truth
Upon arriving Dany’s arrival, Varys might convince her to marry Young Griff like the Targaryens of old. They can unite just in time to battle the army of White Walkers.
The Starks and the Night Watch will likely join this alliance as well. However, obviously eventually Dany will learn that Young Griff is a fake. This will change everything for the ending of Game of Thrones.
Dany Vs. Young Griff
Dany will be furious over being lied to and will likely declare war on Young Griff. In the show, the stockpile of wildfire in King’s Landing was used by Cersei to eliminate her rivals. But imagine if instead, Young Griff is holed up in King’s Landing and Dany is laying siege to the city, ignorant of the wildfire.
She sends in her dragons, who unwittingly ignite the wildfire under the city–killing Young Griff and hundreds of innocent people. This sets the stage for the ending we saw in Game of Thrones.
Dany Vs. Jon Snow
The people of Westeros will hate Dany and accuse her of deliberately killing innocents because she is insane. She will try to be a just ruler, but then, the truth about Jon Snow will be revealed of how he is actually a long-lost Targaryen. Dany will become enraged, feeling this is just a repeat ploy like Young Griff’s.
In her anger, she will likely declare Jon Snow to be a traitor, making an enemy of him as well as the Starks. This will lead to Jon feeling he has no alternative but to dispatch her, just like in the ending of Game of Thrones.
The Same Ending, But In A Way That Makes Sense
It will bring Game of Thrones to the same ending point, but in a much more logical fashion. Rather than Dany randomly becoming a tyrant, her paranoia will be built up by people repeatedly betraying her and lying to her.
Rather than becoming a monster, her killing of innocent people will be a complete accident. It will make all the difference in conveying the complexities that Game of Thrones was known for.
It is speculated that the writers of Game of Thrones rushed the ending to try and get work on a Star Wars project, but in doing so they tarnished their own show. House of the Dragon is now working to repair that reputation, but it will always be a shame that Game of Thrones could have been so much better if it had simply followed the books.
