One can easily consider ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ a smaller, more personal prequel to ‘Game of Thrones’. No dragons. Fewer sprawling wars. More pubs than palaces.
However, a single crushing scene in the spinoff not only adds to the lore, but it also prepares the whole stage of ‘Game of Thrones’ silently.
Baelor’s Fall Laid The Groundwork For ‘Game Of Thrones’
When Baelor dies after the Trial of Seven, Westeros loses its most stable future king. He was a respected man, politically competent, and in a position to strengthen the Targaryen dynasty, which was already on its knees without dragons. He could have had a more stable and glorious reign had he ruled. Instead, the crown shifts unpredictably through the Targaryen line. And that turn alters history.
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Baelor’s death leads to the ascendancy of Aegon V, Egg, to the throne. That improbable climb brings us to the tragedy of Summerhall, where Aegon V and Ser Duncan the Tall perish trying to hatch dragons. More importantly, Dunk saves the baby who would become Aerys II. Had Baelor lived and reigned, Aerys, the Mad King, would probably never have put on the crown.
And in the absence of the paranoia and cruelty of Aerys, there is no uprising of Robert Baratheon. No hanging of Rickard and Brandon Stark. No kidnapping scandal of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen that led to war. The Iron Throne would never be captured by the Baratheons and Lannisters.
That means no exiled Daenerys Targaryen plotting her return across the Narrow Sea. No, Jon Snow was raised as a secret bastard to protect him from royal vengeance. Even with the weak political system at the beginning of ‘Game of Thrones’, the Starks in the North, the Lannisters in King’s Landing would not be the same. The whole basis of the original series is instability that was generated several generations ago. And that unsteadiness goes back to Baelor.
How ‘Game Of Thrones’ Traces Back To Baelor Targaryen’s Final Battle
The power of this revelation lies in its magnitude. ‘Game of Thrones’ feels epic and inevitable, as though war and dragons were always destined to erupt. However, the death of Baelor is a contradiction.
History might have been much different. A single death in a tournament turns the Targaryen bloodline. The result of that redirection is Aerys. Aerys produces rebellion.
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The broken world that we encounter in ‘Game of Thrones’ is a result of rebellion. It’s not just tragic. It’s staggering. The fights, intrigues, and foretellings that characterize ‘Game of Thrones’ do not start with the execution of Ned Stark or Daenerys’ dragons. They start a hundred years before, when Westeros lost the king it deserved, and inherited the mess that ensued.
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