This season of Game of Thrones is just full of unexpected treats, isn't it? We're finally getting to see some legendary moments that have only been gossiped about before now. Sunday, in Bran's flashbacks, we saw our first ever glimpse of the Mad King on Game of Thrones. The vision showed old Aerys Targaryen giving the command to his Kingsguard to "burn them all" with the green wildfire.
That was Daenerys' father, y'all! What a scary fellow. He reminds me of Theoden and/or Denethor in Lord of The Rings. Crazy old dudes should be on the throne even less than impressionable children (shaking my head at you, Tommen.) Still, let's not take this scene for granted. This lines up with what Jaime Lannister, who infamously killed the Mad King, told Brienne in an earlier episode. It confirms his motivation for being the "Kingslayer" and basically ruining his reputation while doing a good deed. Typical Jaime.
The Ned and Jon Snow stuff I understand, but I wonder why it was so important for Bran to see Aerys at all. Does he need to see Jaime's side of the story, for some reason? Was something else secretive happening back then? I also like that these flashbacks are increasingly Lost-like. Bran's going to need to find himself a constant. Anyway, it's such a treat to get a glimpse of these Game of Thrones moments that happened before the pilot episode. The history of this world is so rich, and I like seeing how all of the details are coming into play.
Image: Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO
