Baekar Shrine

The Targaryen fixation of the recent installments of the Ice & Fire franchise is a direct outcome of GRRM's inability to finish the series, so the only products he could churn out are limited to the past, i.e. the Targaryen reign. In doing so, they indirectly go against the main series' systemic critique of the legacy of Old Valyria, of which dragons were a key instrument in their colonization and tyranny. I don't fault any newcomer for thinking this way, but I am wholly apathetic towards the whole "imagine if the Daeron II era Targaryens had dragons!" or "they robbed us of the Targaryens speaking High Valyrian in AKOTSK!" because the distance between the Daeron II era Targaryens and their Valyrian ancestry is logical (how many generations has it been?), intentional, and makes their characterization richer and more nuanced. It's understandable to be enthralled by the coolness factor of dragons, but to neglect the series' overall critique of structures of power and theme of creating your own destiny in spite of the bloodied baggage of your predecessors is to miss the forest for the trees.