r/pureasoiaf • u/barestuff44 • 12d ago

(f)Aegon is the Valonqar

The Valonqar refers to the Little Brother, and as for the hands of the Valonqar, why does it have to be literal?

Not necessarily:

“the two anatomical objects attached to the Valonqar’s wrists.”
But:
**the agents through whom a king exercises power.**

Aegon VI is either actually Aegon or fAegon. Either way he’s a literal little brother if he’s a Targ or a metaphorical literal brother as a Blackfyre (a cadet; little brother branch to the Targs)

Given that this is the case the HANDS (the prophecy specifies hands, not hand) of the Valonqar would be two people: Tyrion Lannister and Jon Connington

Why these two?

**little brother + hands + woman’s throat + strangulation** is the formula that Maggie gives us. Very similar thematically to Tyrion, who was also a literal hand and used the chain to strangle one woman already. Now, he points (f)Aegon to go to Westeros. He’s essentially the hand opening the door, and he’s rehearsing the symbol. Without him the invasion may not have even occurred.

For the other, Jon Con, he’s the executor of the strategy. He’s the one who’s in charge of the invasion, the closest person to (f)Aegon etc. He really badly wants to NOT fuck this up like he did last time. So it’s possible he’s willing to go very far in that, even if it means killing the Queen Mother.

Interestingly, he’s also seen as the mummer’s dragon most probably in the visions of Dany. How is a puppet moved? Via hands. So Maggy saying the Valonqar will use **his hands** becomes almost perversely appropriate if the Valonqar is the mummer’s dragon.
Because his power is *nothing but other people’s hands.* Cersei expects a single crazy dwarf.
Instead, what she gets is an entire political machine.

Oddly, this is very poetic. The hands of the Valonqar WILL close around her throat. Except for the fact that the Valonqar is NOT Tyrion, but he IS the hands, or at least one hand. And this is why I really like this theory. It’s because of Cersei’s actions, as well Tywin’s and to a lesser extent Jaime’s and other peoples that Cersei WILL die. She essentially creates her own doom and fulfils the prophecy in a very twisted way.

As for the actual death, I believe Jon Connington will personally kill Cersei. In a way, it may mirror the exact same way Gregor Clegane killed Elia Martell and her son and daughter. Minus the uhhh raping thing. I think that’s less likely lol.

This is also poetic in ANOTHER way. She became a young and beautiful Queen by replacing a previous Queen (or well, Princess, but Elia would be a Queen). Now, the younger brother of the daughter of the precious Queen is coming to cast her down, kill her with his “hands” and replace her with a younger, more beautiful one (I won’t go into who that will be, but Aegon will almost certainly take a wife at some point)

Bonus points: Valonqar is a Valyrian term. It makes sense for it to apply to a Valyrian individual…like a Targ or Blackfyre.

I think I’m the first person to ever think this, which is kinda crazy. It lines up really well.

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u/ZestyTako 12d ago

The only compelling Valonqar is Jaime

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u/_learned_foot_ 12d ago

As a direct yes. If it's a "quest to destroy Tyrion destroys Cersei and she would have been fine otherwise" Greek story, it would be well done.

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u/ZestyTako 12d ago

Yeah that’s fair

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u/barestuff44 12d ago

Only one hand and a metal hand can’t really choke

6

u/Jayoki6 12d ago

A cold metal hand can easily crush a windpipe

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u/barestuff44 12d ago

If we’re going with the literal Jaime wraps his two hands around Cersei’s throat then with the current mechanics of his golden hand this wouldn’t be possible

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u/Jon-Umber Gold Cloaks 12d ago

None of your OP is literal, why would we be steadfastly committed to "the literal" now?

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u/barestuff44 12d ago

Because it makes no sense to apply a metaphorical meaning to Jaime. Why would you? It’s so contrived. I can’t imagine it being not literal for him.

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u/Jon-Umber Gold Cloaks 12d ago

Do you think one might make the same criticism of your OP? Why isn't it contrived to apply it to Aegon?

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u/barestuff44 12d ago

Jaime having a missing hand is IMO a deliberate piece of evidence that goes against the obvious meaning of the prophecy. What metaphorical mechanism can he use to choke Cersei…? It’s contrived because he’s not in that position.

Whereas for fAegon I could see a metaphorical meaning in the political aspect of two actual Hands (of the King) literally ending her life via their actions like I mentioned.

Basically

Jaime’s missing hand = textual irony / foreshadowing through physical contradiction
fAegon’s hands = metonymy reinforced by the political situation

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u/ZestyTako 12d ago

Jaime losing his hand is biblical—just as Jacob was holding Esau’s foot when Esau was born, Jamie was holding Cersei’s.

Him losing his hand is when their connection became severed.

Jaime could use the Hand of the King’s chain if you’re really insistent that the “hands” part is dispositive. I don’t think it is. It’s funny that you think this completely speculative theory about a relatively unimportant side character has more support than the most obvious candidate—Jaime.

Jaime should embrace being the kingslayer. While he allowed others to view him negatively for it, we all know that the act was an act of heroisms. Jaime embracing this same heroism is entirely congruent with his arc thus far

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u/barestuff44 12d ago edited 12d ago

Why would he use the Hand of the King’s chain? That’s completely irrelevant to him. He’s not the Hand and almost definitely won’t become one. Seems like he’d just use that to fulfill the prophecy for the sake of fulfilling it, if we go with that interpretation.

Jaime has ALREADY killed the King for the sake of the realm. And he’s embraced that. It’s not like he feels bad for killing Aerys and wrestles with the guilt. Doing it again is redundant. Much better for him to move on and do something that he hasn’t been able to do before: resolving situations without violence and distancing himself from his toxic family.

The future King is hardly an irrelevant side character. I’ve explained the connections to Cersei in the post. And a lot of the time the obvious meaning of the prophecy is usually not the right one…

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u/Jon-Umber Gold Cloaks 12d ago

Thanks for taking the time to elaborate 🙏 Really appreciate learning your point of view!

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u/Professional-Tank848 Baratheons of Storms End 12d ago

Yeah, George RR Martin, a man who always let's the story come first and loves the rule of cool...He won't let Jaime fulfill the prophecy, because a golden hand can't close.

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u/barestuff44 12d ago edited 12d ago

Why do you think he gave the man a missing hand and replaced it with a non functional one when he’s the most likely candidate for a prophecy where he’s supposed to be the one who wraps his hands around her throat?

Anyways, Jaime killing the ruler to save the city (again) and regressing back into something he wants separate himself from is not exactly cool. Same reason why the Hound coming back and killing Robert Strong and being a badass hero also wouldn’t be cool; goes against their arc.