#randyll

Thank you! Always nice to hear that, despite the blog’s young age.

Hmmm, well, depending on the timeline, The position of Hand of the King will change from old to new. It has a pretty high turnover rate and I don’t expect Aegon VI to slow that down. Let’s see who I think will sit as members of Aegon’s small council…

Jon Connington as Aegon’s starting Hand of the King. Initially, there’ll be nothing and no one that would have grounds to stop him from attaining the position, considering he was Aegon’s guardian during his formative years and has been nothing but loyal to Aegon. He speaks with the king’s voice and would surely follow any order of Aegon. 

That being said… Connington is not a subtle man and a secret like his greyscale would get discovered by Varys’ little birds once he stays at King’s Landing. There’s no way Varys won’t cut down a man who resents him and Connington has given the Spider the greatest blade to chop his head off: his greyscale. 

Let’s be honest, as sympathetic and tragic as Connington committing his last days to do right by his silver prince’s son is, him bringing greyscale into his army was abjectly stupid and could have endangered Aegon’s campaign. A mistake made out of unrequited love and regret, one that Connington will pay for with his life once the Spider closes his fangs on him. On the orders of Aegon, who will feel betrayed that his trusted guardian hid such a damaging secret, the Griffin Hand’s story will end an utter tragedy.

Rolly Duckfield as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. True, Connington thinks little of him, but honestly, that’s the man’s classism (worst wine, anyone?) talking and, even beyond that, he admits that Duckfield is “a solid man, and true.” Honestly, that’s what the Kingsguard always should have been ever since Visenya started it up. Aegon needs a man who’ll die for him and, after the Kingslayer, I can see why he’d want to avoid a repeat of that by having a trustworthy knight as his Lord Commander.

… Plus, Egg and Dunk, Egg and Duck? Having Duckfield as Lord Commander is just too perfect not to do. 

Harry Strickland as Master of Coin. As former paymaster of the Golden Company, Harry likely knows the tedium and hard work of finding profits and dividing it among employees. In Connington’s own words, Harry is “better at hammering out contracts” and has “a nose for gold.”  In terms of economics, as of A Dance with Dragons, Harry seems the only one who has the qualifications (albeit through a backhanded compliment) on Aegon’s side to be considered for Master of Coin as of right now. So that’s what I’m sticking with.

Randyll Tarly as Master of Laws and potential later Hand of the King. @poorquentyn, @warsofasoiaf, and @racefortheironthrone have all given their exhaustive input onto why Randyll would fight under Targaryen banners: grievances against Mace’s taking credit for his deeds, Brightwater Keep going to a Tyrell when he could have had a claim to it, having married a Florent, and other understandable reasons… though, I do think there’s also a personal factor to him joining Aegon.

Aegon, as they speak of his willingness to lead the charge to Storm’s End, will sound a far more suitable martial king to Randyll than plump, young Tommen ever did. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tommen reminded Randyll of Sam… leaving Randyll to pick the more “worthwhile” heir to the Iron Throne and betraying Mace Tyrell in the process. A repeat of what happened with Samwell and Dickon, except on a continental scale.

Varys as Master of Whisperers. If we’re talking about sheer commitment to Aegon’s regime, Varys is utterly devoted to that cause. After all, he is the key artisan of it as A Dance with Dragons’ Epilogue tells us. There’s no chance of betrayal towards Aegon with Varys because, for the Spider, Aegon’s enlightened, continued reign is his end-game. 

There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to aid Aegon’s ascension (killing Kevan and Pycelle, despite them stabilizing the realm), the same could be said for his drive to keep Aegon’s regime afloat. From a competence level, he’s the best Master of Whisperers the Seven Kingdoms has at the moment, having complete knowledge of the Red Keep, his use of disguises, and his little birds scurrying about King’s Landing. He’s the only worthwhile choice for Aegon.

Aurane Waters as Master of Ships. The Bastard of Driftmark is an opportunist, first and foremost. Jumping from Stannis, who he could potentially gain the most from with Stannis’ meritocratic leanings, to Cersei, who he sized up as someone who could appoint him to high places of power, he’ll jump to Aegon’s side, giving him a fleet in exchange for a seat on the small council. 

The benefits for Aurane are three-fold: he gets the favor of a king, a seat on the small council… and the potential to be on the path to legitimacy, allowing him to take House Velaryon from his Stannis-supporting half-nephew, from a king more linked to House Velaryon than House Lannister was. The proximity of the Stepstones to Storm’s End will give Aurane plenty of opportunity to meet up with Aegon and make his offer. Aegon doesn’t have a navy and when someone comes in with a powerful fleet of dromonds… why would Aegon say no?

Mathis Rowan as an adviser and potential later Hand of the King. I trust Kevan’s political logic here that Mathis was a good choice and, as to why Mathis would join… well, the Golden Company has “friends in the Reach” and there must be something to Connington’s meaning to take Storm’s End “by guile” from Stannis. 

And… this might be reaching, but when Tywin talked about Doran claiming justice for Elia and her children, I came across this observation of Tyrion’s: Redwyne does not give a fig, he thought, but Rowan looks fit to gag. 

Interesting that both serve under House Tyrell, but each have different reactions to the fate of the Targaryen children. It stinks of foreshadowing to me and I hope I might be right here.

I don’t have enough of a clue who would take the Grand Maester position. I would say Halfmaester Haldon would act as a pseudo-Grand Maester figure, an adviser serving Aegon in a similar capacity.

Any others… hmmm. I think we might see a few Dornish advisers to counterbalance the amount of Reach influence in the small council with Randyll and Mathis. Personally, I want to see Anders Yronwood, considering we started seeing a lot of Yronwoods in A Dance with Dragons and, considering Aegon’s dubious blood status, it’d be another thematic link to have more Yronwoods involved.

Arianne herself would definitely sit on the meetings as Aegon’s queen and Doran’s representative, being our eyes in on the meetings after Connington’s execution and offering political advice from Dorne. Arianne is not someone who would meekly sit out of proactive governance and I don’t see Aegon changing that at all.

Game of Thrones Season 6: Downton Abbey Actor Cast as Randyll Tarly

House Tully. House Baratheon. House Targaryen. While there are many things to love about Game of Thrones, perhaps it is the storied family histories and rich rivalries within the noble houses of the seven kingdom that drench the show in most detail and intrigue. Some houses — like the Starks and the Lannisters — are well developed, boasting multiple protagonists, while others are only mentioned…