re: Crackpot ASOIAF Theories SPOILERS

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Aegon VI (not to be confused with Young Griff*)

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Young Griff: An Explanatory Essay

When asked about Young Griff, or Aegon VI Targaryen, most people will respond with their stance on the controversy surrounding his true identity—this meta, however, will focus on the nature of his character alone. Since he has only appeared in one book, the series has not yet granted us a wealth of evidence; but the bits it has given us will be explored here.

Young Griff is, at the heart of it, a simple young man. Though he has been groomed for rule his whole life, all his experiences are that of a common boy. He has never lived in luxury or splendour; nay, he hasn’t ever even lived in Westeros as far as he can remember—much like Daenerys. His life has been spent in Essos, learning trades like fishing and sailing. His company has been more or less constant: his protector and father figure, Jon Connington, his septa and mother figure, Septa Lemore, his cynical halfmaester, and his raucous brother-in-arms, Rolly Duckfield. These companions have formed a close-knit family around him; for Griff, they are his parents and uncles and siblings. He has never been flattered by courtiers, threatened by enemies, or seduced by ambitious noble ladies—though he knows these people exist and will one day be a part of his life.

Young Griff is thus: the product of Jon’s stern upbringing, Haldon’s witty cynicism, Lemore’s gentle empathy, and Rolly’s boyish charm. He is what every noble young man is: an untried boy, taught everything he should know about the world he will inherit. The difference between Young Griff and Robb Stark, Tommen Baratheon, or Quentyn Martell, however, is that while Griff knows what his dues are, he has lived his whole life being denied their comforts. He has worked with his hands for years, traded with shrewd Essosi peddlers, toiled under the Volantene sun, and tasted the effects of poverty, all while coming home every night and practising his Valyrian dialects. His experiences among genuine commoners have given him an indiscriminate attitude towards those he meets; if he likes them, he befriends them. With Young Griff, there are never ulterior motives.

The evidence of this is rampant in his interactions with the other characters. Rolly Duckfield, a Westerosi exile, lived in the shadow of a lord’s castle and fled when he butted heads with the lord’s son. He had no claim to nobility, no special alliances or castles or armies, no extensive knowledge of Westerosi politics for Young Griff to learn from. However, Rolly was funny, affable, and best of all, loyal to a fault. Griff’s acceptance of him and the friendship that resulted prove not only that he lacks the dishonest ambition that drive too many noble friendships and alliances, but also that he was the type of man that a Westerosi commoner would die to have made king.

Enter Tyrion, or ‘Hugor Hill’. Upon their introduction, Young Griff believed him to be a bastard dwarf from Flea Bottom, useless in furthering any ambitions. Nevertheless, he befriended Tyrion—even defending his presence on their ship to Jon Connington, his father for all intents and purposes—because he liked him. Tyrion could not fight for Young Griff, or persuade anyone to join him. For all Young Griff knew, Tyrion was just a poor, funny dwarf with an unusually sharp tongue. And for that reason alone, Young Griff felt he was a worthy friend.

Now, like any character in this series, he is in no way without flaws. In spite of his upbringing, Young Griff maintains the instinct to be a young man. He has a small temper and prickly pride—evidenced by his put-out reaction when Tyrion beats him at cyvasse, a game he had been training at his entire life—as well as reckless bravery and a boy’s thirst for glory, illustrated in his insistence that he lead the battle for Storm’s End. While his being raised among commoners have given him special insight about the reality of poverty and anonymity, it has also made him forget that, in the grand scheme of things, his own life and success are of paramount importance. In his mind, he cannot see why he should not be risking his life for their cause if his friends are doing the same.

By all accounts, Young Griff has inherited Rhaegar’s boldness and Elia’s sympathetic heart. He is loyal, capable, and brave to the point of stupidity—but he is also the only current contender for the Iron Throne who truly knows what it means to be one of the smallfolk. He possesses a subtle intelligence that, while it is in no way the brand of sharp cunning that Varys or Tyrion or Petyr wield, does not make him a simple pushover, either. He does not have any visible bloodlust, and does not want to win his father’s country back with dragons. In Young Griff’s mind, he only needs an army of loyal men, each of them a friend, to get him where he needs to be. Though this notion speaks of just how naive he is when it comes to the world of politics, it also makes him unique amidst a country of schemers.

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