George R.R. Martin has a real talent for details. The history of Westeros is vast and extensive, and it all seems to line up perfectly - as if this really is a real world, and he’s just recounting what happened.
With all of the stories laid throughout it, there are plenty of opportunities for a prequel show. One has been announced, yes, but there are so many that would make a show just as awesome as the current Game Of Thrones. These ten stories stand out above all the rest of the history as both fascinating and horrible. And isn’t that what Game Of Thrones is all about?
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The Children Of The Forest
The Children of the Forest have not been seen by men for hundreds of years, but were the original inhabitants of Westeros. Calling themselves “those who sing the song of earth”, very little is known about this mysterious race. They’re smaller than human children but seem to have been a very powerful race who were around when the First Men arrived in Westeros.
This meeting would make for a fascinating prequel show, since we know very little of what happened back then and it would introduce a new race entirely; or at least, expand on a race barely mentioned in the show as we know it today.
The Night King’s Origin
The Night King is a fearsome being. He’s mentioned in the books as The Night’s King, but in the show as The Night King. Fans were originally confused as to if this was the same person, but George R.R. Martin has been pretty cryptic about that - which suggests yes, they are one and the same.
Many legends surround The Night’s King, who existed not long after the Wall was built. He was not the first White Walker, but made human sacrifices to them, which was discovered after his death. Although he seems to have been a very horrific figure, he was no doubt an interesting one.
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Aegon The Conquerer
The first king of the Iron Throne seems a great and obvious thing to make a prequel out of. Actually, the Iron Throne was made by him, forged from the swords of the enemies he defeated. He came from Dragonstone and conquered Westeros using his army and his three dragons, with the help of his sisters.
Although the reign that came after was fairly peaceful, the conquest itself was most certainly not and would make an extremely interesting prequel show. It was, essentially, the start of the dynasty of House Targaryen, placing them as the rulers of Westeros where they would stay for three hundred years. Until Robert, of course.
Maegor The Cruel
A couple of generations down the line was Maegor. He had six wives (as the Targaryens very much believed in polygamy back then, as well as other questionable romantic situations), and he was… well, his name says it all. He was very cruel, and earned his moniker by displaying that trait excessively.
He had everyone involved in the birth of his child executed, even killed relatives of his, and had one of his wives tortured after she was accused of having an affair - and this is just some of what he did. It’d take days to list everything.
It would be a pretty grim show, certainly, but since when is Game Of Thrones not grim?
The Blackfyre Pretenders
The Blackfyres wanted the Iron Throne, hated the Targaryens, and started no less than five rebellions until they were wiped out. This was originally thanks to Aegon IV, who legitimized all of his bastards on his death bed - meaning that the Blackfyres then felt they were entitled to the Iron Throne. This, of course, was contested.
The series of wars could make for a fascinating prequel show, since the amount of drama involved with the Targaryens and this family would just make for a wealth of interesting characters and subplots. It also includes the origin story of The Golden Company, founded by one of the bastards known as Bittersteel.
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The Great Bastards
To be more specific, one story within the Blackfyre rebellions would make for an awesome show - the Great Bastards. These were the children born to Aegon IV from noble women, and they all had pretty intense stories.
Shiera had two of her brothers fall in love with her, and was said to be quite the force of nature. She was very intelligent, very manipulative, and it was said that she bathed in blood to retain her great beauty. Even the story of Shiera and the rivalry between her brothers that she fostered would make for an amazing and very dynamic story on screen.
The Dance Of The Dragons
The Dance of the Dragons was a civil war fought between Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra over the Iron Throne. In the end, both of them died, and Rhaenyra’s son was crowned, but not before a series of dramatic battles that George R.R. Martin detailed very extensively. Seriously—how does he come up with all this history?
The ending was pretty terrible, too. Rhaenyra was fed to a dragon and Aegon was poisoned, although it was never detailed who actually did the poisoning. Room for creative license when it comes to creating a prequel show? They could probably make at least five seasons out of this war.
The Rains Of Castamere
You’ve heard the song in the show, the one sung about Tywin Lannister. But do you know what actually happened?
Tywin’s father, Tytos, was a weak man who was both laughed at and hated by his vassals. They showed no respect, which angered Tywin, and eventually, one vassal family rebelled. House Reyne. Tywin was the one who rose up in response, murdering them brutally and displaying their bodies for all to see. This rebellion was short, thanks to Tywin but it’d be a pretty impactful one season show and would ensure everyone knew the origins of the song and why Tywin was a man to be feared.
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The Mad King
Aerys II Targaryen, otherwise known as the Mad King, was almost as bad as Maegor the Cruel. When he grew paranoid about his enemies and fell into what was clearly insanity, he began to burn people alive with wildfire. But we don’t know very much about what led up to that point, or how he was before - the fact that Tywin Lannister was once his friend suggests he wasn’t as bad, once upon a time.
That slow descent into insanity would be fascinating to watch, especially as we all know that this one doesn’t have a happy ending. We’re not too sad about Aerys having his throat slit by Jaime Lannister, though.
Robert’s Rebellion
The most talked about war in the present day show is Robert’s Rebellion. Robert Baratheon marched on House Targaryen when Rhaegar Targaryen ran off with Lyanna Stark. Framing it as a crime because he couldn’t bear to believe he was rejected, Robert used this to push the whole realm against Aerys. Which was well-deserved, but he did it for the wrong reasons.
Many people died in this war, and it shifted the rule of Westeros from House Targaryen to House Baratheon, which was monumental. It took place only a couple of decades before the show began, and it’d be awesome to see the characters involved.