Ataraxias Flame

Ever since the new leaks came out yesterday, I have seen tons of posts saying, "Well, incest is already a thing in this family, so why do you think it is wrong in this situation (Aemond kissing Alicent)?"

I am a long-time fan of GRRM's work. I’ve read and reread most of his books, interviews, and lore. I usually do not post my opinions online (I am an introvert), but this time I decided otherwise. And please, if you are going to comment that "the show doesn't follow the books," save it. We all know this isn't George's exact story anymore, but it is his world, his creation, and his fantasy and not just about following the events of Fire & Blood.

First of all, George is a very smart writer, mostly because he deeply understands his characters, even if those characters are... odd, to say the least. Incest is one of his dangerous choices he had made. A wild card that, if not played right, might have killed his books. But it worked. The reason it worked is that even though it is disgusting (and it is), it made sense. Like everything in his work, it wasn't random.

Targaryens are special because of their ability to bond with dragons, an advantage that no one else has, which eventually allowed Aegon to conquer six kingdoms and declare himself king . This special bond sets them high above other houses. If dragons became available to every other house, rebellions would rise. We saw this exact thing happen during the Dance, where Hugh Hammer saw himself as worthy of being king simply because he claimed a dragon.

This reality led to the Targaryens keeping the blood of the dragon as rare as possible: marrying inside the family and keeping the blood pure in order to remain in power. In a way, this also weakened them; they had no true army and no allied houses to call upon, relying solely on their dragons. That became evident in the later years when they lost the throne. After the dragons died out, the incest practice became useless. There was no point in keeping the blood of the dragon pure when there were no dragons left, so they started to wed for alliances.

So, to argue that just because a brother married a sister, it is perfectly fine to do the same with a mother and son "because the show is about incest," shows a lack of understanding of the world and Martin's writing. It highlights how modern Hollywood writers often fail to grasp the deeper mechanics of world-building and fantasy. Instead, they—and parts of the audience—rely on trends, shipping, and shock value.

I just hope that if someone else ever picks up the story of the Dance again, they have a little more respect for the author's lore. That said, I will probably continue to watch the show, mostly as a way to show support for the cast, as they do incredible work and don't deserve the backlash for writing choices.

I leave you with this quote from the man himself.

their traditional incest… keeping the bloodlines pure so that they could better control the dragons

He also specifically mentions pairings like:

brother marrying sister, and nephews and aunts

Another interview he said: