Something I love about GRRM - that he sets everything up in such a way that you can build a load of nice crunchy lore around a story entity who is essentially a 'dragon valve,' inserted into the story to plausibly restrict the Targs from becoming completely OPed, with hundreds of dragons, or have hundreds of wild dragons infesting Westeros.
I think he is a native of Westeros people often forget there were Dragons In Westeros before the Targaryens or valyrians arrived. Thousands of years ago during the Age Of Heroes we hear about Dragons in Westeros
@@rickyhunt4075 Strawman. WW are in the Deep North well beyond where humans live, and they came from the North originally per the stories as well. Dragons were said to be in many places in Westeros. Where do you suppose the Westerosi dragons went?
The seasmoke theory is heartwarming especially if you consider the implication of the cannibal being emotionally intelligent enough to let their child do as they please, and it does certainly seem like the dragons are far more intelligent then "beasts".
Hope he shows up in HOTD he is my favourite dragon. He represents both the greens and blacks and Cannibal represents the Targaryen civil war even though a side wins not going to spoil but in the end everyone loses as the dragons go near extinct they essentially cannabilise themselves. The green fire is usually wild fire which represents madness and cruelty and Cannibal having that fire makes me think Cannibal is the hatch of Maegor the cruel and he rejected it as he wanted the biggest strongest dragon and he wouldn’t settle for a hatchling and maybe that is part of Cannibal’s unwillingness to bond with a rider.
the cannibal being a velaryon dragon is my favorite theory! when i read f&b the first time i found cannibal flying over corlys’ funeral curious and came to the same conclusion as you! so happy you’re covering it!!!
He also became an unwelcome metaphor he wouldn't have appreciated (yes, I also anthropomorphize dragons): that his last ride was with Viserys on his back. And it didn't denote power or strength or potential but the coming end of the dragons for two hundred years. Like that sucks. ;) LOL
Great video, just one clarification on „medieval incest“: canonical law prohibited incest. They were papal dispensations for marriages between first cousins, but no marriages between siblings took place. Also, the most intense interfamiliar marriages of the Spanish and Austrian lines of the Habsburgs - the first family which usually comes to mind when there is talk about „incestious“ marriages took place in the modern period (16. - 17. century), not the medieval period.
Part of that being from royal dynasties desperately try to keep as much power within themselves then let it foster in foreign lines to create disputes down the road, certainly as we start together absolute monarchy becoming a thing and backfiring still.
Absolutely inspired!! Since your tapestry video I've enjoyed the idea that Cannibal's lineage was long ago bonded to a rival Valyrian house that feuded and fought with Targaryens. She might just have primal hatred of everything Targ: their dragons, their eggs, their riders, their _hair_ If Seasmoke isn't descended from a Targ dragon lineage, couldn't we expect some instinctual antagonism to other Targ dragons? Maybe he takes his lead from Laenor. Or maybe the smoke of his name refers to Garth smoke and he's just super chill about stuff
I had a friend of mine talk about Luce, the new mascot for the Vatican, and I told them "Luce means light. Lucifer means light bringer." That one was for you, David.
@@Maegorsteatsidols….you can’t worship false idols. I know lots of people online can’t help themselves from worshipping fictional characters. But many people can.
@@Maegorsteatsit’s totally fine, she’s a representative of the church, not an idol. Only terminally online gooners would make an idol of the Vaticans Loli
It's incredibly logical, given the theory that the different Valyrian households held control over different lineages of dragons, that Cannibal is from one of these other lineages. I especially like to consider the fact that black dragons are particularly regarded as dragons bred for war and conquest. Each family would then, in theory, have at least a couple of black dragons to bolster their house's sense of power and link to Valeryian culture. Could it be that the various dragon families have black dragons with distinctive flame colours to distinguish them? Remember the Great Empire of the Dawn, with their Pearl, Jade, Tourmaline, Onyx, Topaz, Opal, Amethyst and Bloodstone emperors.
im kinda saddened the by the idea of the cannibal seeing its family leave dragons stone and being left behind, because they couldn't hear its cries and was too young to fly with them
Jaw dropping theories! Cannibal coming from a different lineage makes so much sense. Considering the maesters knowing little to nothing about dragons, it's just like humans seeing sharks eating other fish - it looks like cannibalism but they're different species! The more I listen to your theories, the more I am convinced by the dragon lineage / blood sacrifice thing. (I was really skeptical before.) It fits into how house Targaryen wasn't considered powerful in Valyria... If dragon-bonding required sacrificing an entire person, it's unlikely that powerful, established families would even attempt it. I absolutely love the Seasmoke theory! It's unlikely that it would ever get confirmed or debunked, but it's believable world-building to me. The Cannibal-home-alone analogy is so funny... Imagine being left behind and becoming an absolute menace. It adds so much to the lore and makes dragons more creature than gods.
To add to your ideas! 1) if there was a mini-war between the different dragons on Dragonstone, and then things got better (since more dragons came along, and not all of them born in Kingslanding) it might have to do with Targaryens marrying Velaryons. If Velaryons already had some blood from the Valerians who were there before, then they would be adding that blood to the Targaryen line. Perhaps that would allow them to tame some of the other possible dragons from before the conquest (or any other of the Cannibals offspring). That might explain why Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys were able to focus back on the conquest of Westeros: they now had the blood to tame ALL the dragons on Dragonstone. Maybe the Cannibal was just too old and nasty at that point to not remember to try to eat those foreign dragons. Like any grandparents can be when their kids marry folks they don't agree with. 2) similarly, the cannibal would not need to be a female to have sired eggs on other dragons! If Targaryens were able to tame the other non-Targ dragons, then they might be willing to breed with the Targaryen dragons. Then those mixed dragons could have eggs, or have eggs with the Cannibal 3) maybe the Cannibal flew over Corlys hoping for another snack then thought better of it, lol Oh, and, love that the Cannibal is like Shaggydog when I thought it was curious that the other unclaimed dragon is Grey Ghost (like Jon's Ghost)!
Rickon, Shaggy Dog and the Cannibal were always my favorite parts of ASOIAF when I first started reading the books and I was pissed that we knew so little about any of them, these last few streams have been a blessing and I’m glad they’re finally getting some attention! now if we could just get a character analysis stream about the Hound and the sister Gregor supposedly killed (which is never talked about) I’d be able to die happy.
I took want to talk more about the Clegane daughter. Imo The Hounds relationship with Sansa makes more sense when you think about how the hound was once a kid who loved fariytales like bran and Sansa, and that he lost his sister. I think part of his harsh protective but also not healthy behavior stems from knowing how easily those dreams turn to nightmares and wants to scare Sansa straight.
Cannibal: "Of course I burn people alive, you ain't cool unless you burn people alive!" Nanna Vhagar: "If burning people alive is cool, then I'm Myles Davis"
The similarities and links between Rickon and The Cannibal are curious to say the less. Rickon has a black dire wolf with bright green eyes, he's the most rogue of all starks and also is in skaagos, an island full of cannibals. Sounds like a parallelism to me
I think dragons can live a bit longer than two hundred years, but just kinda grounded at that point. Vhagar is closing in on two centuries and she's absolutely massive and needs time and a lot of room to turn in the air. At the end of Aemond's first flight, she didn't just land on the ground, she SLAMMED down. At Rook's Rest it looked like simply getting up was taxing and a chore by itself. If he was never wounded, I think Balerion would've been the same. It was a wonder Viserys got him in the air at all. (The old injuries didn't exactly help) Now it's possible that this is just how the Targaryens' dragons end up at that age, so big and heavy that they simply don't want to move around anymore and are dependant on humans bringing them food. Other Valyrian families might've had dragons with either longer or shorter lifespans
Another great video thanks dave! Love cannibals symbolism and maybe he lives so long because he is eating other dragons and stealing there "fire"/life essence... need more details on cannibal and shaggy dog ❤
This theory have a lot of symbolism too. A Black and GREEN dragon, eating the youngs of other Black and RED dragons, from another lineage/house, can be a mirror to the dance itself, where the greens and the blacks are Dragons (targeryens) of different lineages killing eachother. The greens have a Black end Green Dragon sigil and the blacks have a Black and Red Dragon sigil. They are "cannibalizing" eachother, their youngs are suffering the most and the result is less dragons.
Giving in to incest and cannibalism are 2 of the things mentioned that led to the fall of the GEotD. Maybe it is a clue that the Targaryens were wrong in their presumption that incest and "blood purity" were the proper way. They should have been marrying outside the family and introducing other bloodlines into the mix, like the Starks adding in bloodlines of Red Kings, Marsh Kings, Barrow Kings, and the Warg King during their conquest of the North.
What xD That's a nice theory and all, but not really accurate, at all. Because the world of a song of ice and fire, incest (for Targaryens) doesn't work like in our world. In our world that would have led to massive mutations after each generation of inbreeding. In their world, it doesn't seem to cause any real issues until the dragons died.
What if Sheepstealer is also from one of the maisons' and builders' dragons' lineage, and Cannibal was trying to "save" him/her/them from Targaryen riders??
Thanks for including your speculation about Seasmoke - it's intriguing! I do hope somewhere down the line we get to learn more about Cannibal's origins and descendants 🤞
I loved this video a lot! Regarding Addam's blood, indeed, it is established that Velaryons and Targaryens married several times and either through Valaena's mother or through any other female bloodline. Let's remember that before the conquest the allies of the dragons were the houses of Blackwater Bay, who tend to marry each other. If Daenys the Dreamer married her youngest daughter to one of those minor lords, that starts several generations of potential marriages with the dragon blood spreading to other families. The Velaryons not getting any of it is possible, of course, but unlikely
Seasmoke is my favorite dragon. Man, these are some of the most interesting questions I rarely ever hear being addressed though admittedly there isn’t ample evidence for anything beyond speculation but we see evidence in the main story of symbolic dragons outside the Targaryen line, particularly the blackfyres
I love the theory of the Cannibal having a connection with the smallfolk living on dragonstone before the Targaryens especially! We are all victims of the ceaseless march of time, but at least we were all alive to experience A Song of Ice and Fire and South Park 🫶 Thanks for another awesome video!
Love the contrast of the black and red Targ dragons and the potential black and green rival Valyrian house. Very reminiscent of the Dance factions symbolically!
Aenar had 5 dragons when he went to Draginstone. Now he has 1. What happened to the other 4? Maybe, just maybe, Dragonstone wasn't empty when the Targaryens took it. Maybe they had a dance for it. Maybe that dance was multigenerational & that story was lost to time. The Cannibal would be the last remnant of that war.
@jgr7487 I think this is a super interesting idea! GRRM seems to like hiding very obscure civil war type conflicts in the pasts of the main houses. I've always wondered how/why there is only 1 mentioned Stark family at the start of Roberts Rebellion, except the centuries removed Karstarks
@@athiocordatus9572 I forgot that, good reminder. To me that is more evidence for some recent intra-Stark tussles, nothing ever happens in this story once 😂
@@dominic3797 ”Recent“ as in within the Starks of Winterfell? B/c the mermen took over the White Harbor after the Greystarks, and that was almost one thousand years before Aegon's Conquest. The fall of the Greystarks are only recent geologically speaking.
I think it was because the other Valyrian born dragons were all much older than Balarion when they moved to Dragonstone. The Cannibal is noted to usually avoid attacking adult dragons, so he probably wasn't responsible for their deaths. It's more likely the Targaryens simply struggled to keep their bigger dragons in good health without the resources and knowledge of Old Valyria.
Ayyyyyye what a nice surprise! Didn’t notice the video till I went to finally order a reading rhaegar shirt. Can’t tell u how excited I am to get it finally one. The rhaegar skits drew me in, and the parallels/symbolism/mythology kept me around lol. Good video, as always.
Hey David, when you were talking about the food containing the power in 7:05, it reminded me of the difference between cannibalism and anthropophagy. Here in Brazil we study this in literature classes (since anthropophagy had its cultural comeback between the 19th and 20th century) and the main difference to cannibalism is its inherent religious/symbolic intents. Although its very dated (and ofc kinda rac1st), I'd recommend to you the poem "i-juca pirama" from Goncalves Dias (1851), for it has also some interesting symbols. Idk if george would dive into anthropophagy, but considering Varamyr's accounts and even the "jojen paste", i think its worth the shot. Also, great video as always, thanks so much for your content!
I’ve been waiting for this video! Ever since I watched your previous dreams come from dragons and Targaryen tapestry videos cannibal has been living in my mind rent-free
I think House Valyrian was the dragonlord family that built Dragonstone. If you brought a workforce to build a castle I think Driftmark is a better place, where you can have sheep and stuff. Or if there was another not named dragonlord family maybe some gens into the Valaryons either by marriage or outside of it.
could be, but the reason I think it's unlikely is that if House Velaryon had built dragonstone and lived on dragonstone, that would be mentioned. they would be bringing it up constantly in fact
Awesome video Dave! ❤️ Cannibal always felt like a piece of the ancient history of ASOIAF Earth puzzle to me. His green and black coloration makes me think of Asshai By The Shadow with its black city/lands and toxic green water, as well as the life sapping phenomenon there being like the land cannibalizing the animals. Not to mention that Asshai has a dragon origin story.
Getting this in my watch history for later. Good idea doing some HOTD/FAB lore this time around, especially a fearsome dragon. Perhaps even the most so. Besides Balerion the Dread and Vhagar the Old Nan of course. But being 3rd isn't bad sometimes
Love the new pad! This got me thinking that Dragonstone’s magnificent and strange fortifications would work as marketing as well as defence. A westerosi lord seeing it will have confidence the Valyrian sword being made for him will be similarly magical and mighty. It fits the sword brand.
Question: Why would the pre-conquest Targaryens leave the Cannibal to survive for nearly more than 100 years? Aenar arrived on Dragonstone with 5 dragons, he could have had his kin gang up on him and killed The Cannibal. The dragon threatened their own dragon lineage. Why didn't they do so? I think it's more likely that Cannibal hatched with the same clutch as Dreamfyre, at around 32 AC, and only began devouring other dragons in late 50's or early 60's AC. By this time, Jaehaerys had already completed the Dragonpit, and he could breed dragons comfortably there. This is also supported by the fact that Vermithor is confirmed in the lore to be the largest dragon in the world after Balerion and Vhagar. If Cannibal had lived for more than 200 years, he would be as large if not larger than Balerion
At the end of the Rickon live stream you asked us to click the notification and watch your vids in the first few hours after they are posted...The North Remembers....
"I am a very North Remembereing UA-cam creator. You think I don't notice the views in the first few hours?" this is the AI-generated response YT recommended I give you and I thought it was really funny 😂 but yes thank you very much!!
Isn't it possible that the reason so few dragons were born after Aenar and co came to Westeros is because the Doom was an example of magic weakening in the world of ice and fire, at least for a time, and thus may have affected the dragons as a result?
The Cannibal is my “I can fix her!” in dragon form ETA: the idea of young Corlys claiming the cannibal is a fun one because then we have Rhaenys Targaryen with Meleys marrying Corlys Velaryon on the Cannibal. Whoop, guess she becomes Queen 😂
Love you Dave! Love your tenacity, and your ability to consistently give us new things to think about and consume in the long wait for the next book. Thanks man!
I think Addam was able to claim seasmoke because of the dragons bond with Laenor. Seasmoke (I think) essentially said hey thats Laenor because Addam is his half brother and takes after him. So I believe Seasmoke was just finding the closest to his previous rider because of his disappearance.
@jman5432 (I'm sorry, this comment is way too long) I talked with someone else under David's video about Seasmoke and Laenor. David has already done videos talking about Valyrian blood magic and has theorized how they first tamed the dragons. If I remember correctly he brought up that different families might have had their own family of dragons and that one family will only be able to bond with their previous dragons' descendants. Meaning, a Targaryen would only be able to bond with a Targaryen dragon and not one from another family. I think this was a huge reason why they all practised incest to "keep the blood pure" because once you give someone else access to your nuke on wings it will eventually lead to conflict. While Rhaenys is a Targaryen, she's not actually 50% Targaryen just because her father was Prince Aemon. Technically, she has more Velaryon blood than anything. Rhaenys' mother was Jocelyn Baratheon, the daughter of Alyssa Velaryon. Her father Aemon was the son of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and their mother was also Alyssa. (Yes, Aemon and Jocelyn were aunt and nephew). This makes her, by blood, half Velaryon, a quarter Targaryen and a quarter Baratheon (but she's only a Targaryen by name). Personally, I don't think Rhaenys brought any dragon keepers to Driftmark where Seasmoke has spent most of his life. She probably taught Laenor the dragon commands herself and made sure he properly bonded with Seasmoke. The Velaryons were not dragonriders but have married Targaryens plenty of times. At this point they're just one big family with two different names. It's not impossible that letting Seasmoke bond with Laenor led to some accidental blood magic that made the Velaryons unofficial dragonlords with their very own dragon, Seasmoke. Yeah, I make jokes about Seasmoke seeing Addam and going, "YOU SMELL LIKE LAENOR. I'M KEEPING YOU" like everyone else, but I honestly think only a Velaryon could've bonded with him
This is my first time seeing you and this channel, and I must say, you're really good at structuring your script. You also have very good diction, which I appreciate as a non-native English speaker. I'll definitely return to this channel
oh thanks very much I appreciate that! I very intentionally script in a conversational style with a mind towards presentation, as opposed to just writing an essay and then performing it. The goal is that it comes across naturally, but with precise wording :)
Maybe there was a resurgence of Targaryen dragons because the Dragonpit was build and finished around 50 AC. All the eggs and hatchlings would have been nice and protected from Cannibal there - until the Targaryen dragons became numerous enough to protect their clutches on Dragonstone from Cannibal (Balerion may have been an absentee father 😅). Also, this would make the Dragonpit a tragic double-edged sword: Helping dragons survive and thrive in the short run, but also helping make them go extinct in the long run.
Makes a lot of sense and honestly, I never really thought about it until you pointed it out that he started out with five dragons and somehow by the time of the conquest, there's only been two born with one remaining like that, doesn't math. I do think though it's more likely that there wasn't just one cannibal, but probably several young dragons together, and all grew up in overtime cannibals, the only one left if they all looked alike, which i'm we see some dragons who look similar people may have.Mistaken them for the gathers, specifically, if they were only targeting the dragons.
Daemon indirectly mentioned the Cannibal in episode 10 of season 1 of House of the Dragon when referring to the "three wild dragons". (Even though Sheepstealer's location in the show was changed to the Vale.)
I like the theory of Cannibal being from another line of dragons and SeaSmoke being one of her offspring. Because it brings to mind the cuckoo bird and brood parasitism, where a cuckoo will lay one of it's eggs in another bird's nest, letting the other birds raise the young cuckoo (which often outcompetes the other baby birds for food and has the best shot of surviving). If dragons are more intelligent than given credit for, and with the Cannibal possibly being the last of her line...by getting one of her own eggs into a clutch of Targaryen dragon eggs it could boost the survival chances of her young, because if anyone knows the fragility and weakness of baby dragons, it would be the Cannibal.
Of course, the question that hasn't been addressed (as far as I know) is who exactly were the pre-Targaryen Valerians on Dragonstone? Was Dragonstone an unpopular "provincial" backwater, and Aenor made them a deal to swap places, or was there conflict between the two houses, and if so, why isn't it recorded in Fire and Blood? I suspect the reason why GRRM put The Cannibal into the story is to prevent the Targaryens from being too overpowered. He needed Aegon's invasion force to be a winner, but not so much that there was no conflict. Then he probably did the maths and realised that he needed some "throttling" factor on dragon breeding in order to end up with a low enough number of dragons by the start of The Dance that it could credibly wipe them all out.
I Literally think about the ice Spiders vid at least once a week and idk how many times ive rewatched it, the other vids are also so so incredible! Vedic Dany is esp close to my heart❤
What if the Cannibal was specifically bred to eat dragons? Like a type of Dragon Culler, to eat the dragons it's long gone masters deemed too weak or not what they wanted. Even young dragons are particularly fearsome. The last order Cannibal could have gotten was "Cull the Targaryen house". That would kinda help with the lack of Dragons during the 100 years of only 2 dragons, until they found a way to push away Cannibal from the main roost area and out toward the Smallfolk lands.
Cannibal sounds like a wild undomesticated dragon to me. The reason he looks/acts so different is from not being selectively bred for generations. Like comparing a wolf to a dog
Seriously, David, your art after HoTD season 2 ended has been fantastic. I'm very impressed how you can pivot to covering the show and then pivot back to great storytelling like this. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire will seriously never stop giving. Godspeed mate! PRAISE GARTH!! 🌲
Loved this video! Reckon you’d ever do a video going into the symbolic analysis of every dragon from ASOIAF? The one you did were you broke down all the symbolism in the dragon fights from F&B was 🔥
Love your content as always! I hope to become a squisher next month :) I think GRRM also mentioned that he based the direct familial marriages on ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and other ancient fertile crescent cultures. These cultures also widely practiced polygamy. It would be interesting to think about Valyrian family structures and marriage customs. Perhaps a Valyrian lord or emperor would have a sister as Chief Wife and then various other lesser wives for political reasons, like the Egyptian pharaohs. Since Valyria is also modeled after ancient Rome and Greece, it would be interesting to consider that they might've granted divorces like the Romans and Greeks did (& also the ancient Eqyptians + Assyrians. Hammurabi's Code even has divorce laws and proceedings in it.) I would watch the hell out of an ancient Valyrian Divorce Court TV show, it would be better than that Blood Moon disaster. Dragon custody battles would be vicious.
Rickon Stark being a greenseer and/or skinchanger with Shaggydog and ending up riding the Cannibal in a Nettlesesque situation would be kind of insane & ik it's likely not gonna happen but it's a cool scenario, especially with the black scales/fur and green eyes and Rickon himself being batshit insane (and traumatized) from a very young age and he's now on Skagos the supposed island of the old gods, cannibalism and unicorns with Osha and the theory where the Cannibal lives on Skagos after running out of food supply after the dance of the dragons, especially during the second dance of the dragons and like last time not choosing either Aegon VI or Daenerys I like he/she didn't choose Aegon II or Rhaenyra I is a really cool concept I ride w/. And not to mention there's always the possibility that the Cannibal is the last Westerosi dragon without any Valyrian ties.
The author doesn't owe us anything, but my dad passed away from cancer this August and he and I really loved this series. We waited patiently and he would joke that his watch would end after he had read TWOW. Rest in peace daddy, I'm sorry I got you invested into ASOIAF without return. I don't know why I keep coming back.
Odd theory here. Some dinosaurs, such as the T-Rex, developed a sort of venomous bite that was caused by bacteria from rotting meat on their teeth. The bacteria would transmit to the bite victim, and if they lived long enough, would get infected. I wonder if the Cannibals green flame can be caused by this, with some sort of magical twist. Rotting dragon meat changes the colour/potency of fire? Pure speculation with nothing to back this, but the semi-dormant dinosaur nerd in me thought of it and I needed to share it
What I find interesting is that the Cannibal could be used as a device to explain to readers what happens during Dance of the Dragons. Cannibal could represent the Greens with its green-tinged flames and eyes. What does it seem to like to do? Eat/Kill (Targaryen/Blacks) dragons and their eggs. I don't think we get what happens to Cannibal exactly, but it seems to fly off after most of the Targaryen dragons are wiped out. Kind of like "My job here is done." And yes, for the most part the Greens (House Hightower specifically) survive and don't fade into memory I still think its an apt parallel between the dragons and the fight between the Greens and Blacks.
Loved this one!! I think that you missed one little thing about the dragon population not growing i those 100 years. Its like turtles and other "old age" animals.. the older the can get, the later they mature and can breed. There are turtle that live up to be 400 years but they have to survive the first 40 years before the can give birth. And therfore its possible that those 5 dragons that came to dragonstone were a long way from maturaty and breeding age.
I am still clawing on to the theory that the Cannibal is still alive on Skagos and Rickon will come back to rescue Winterfell on its back, being the first person ever to both be a warg and dragonrider. Chance of happening?
In Elden Ring, you can consume a dragon's heart to gain more draconic incantations. I wonder if the Valyrians did this as well. Also, I do agree that canibal is from an offshoot lineage.
Loved the video & does the Cannibal's behaviour mean that whomever's soul was fused with the Cannibal is someone who is against the Targaryens? This person knew of the terrible plot by the Targaryens & fused with his dragon to get away early?
Targaryens: dragonrider house Velaryons: often marry Targaryens, became dragonrider house during the dance Celtigars: 🗿🗿🗿 very good and interesting video, as always. thank you!
Excellent video as always. I'm fascinated by the colours of Cannibal and the related associations with wildness/feralness/uncontrollability: Shaggydog is obviously similarly wild and dangerous, as is wildfire, which Cannibal's own fire resembles so much. And of course it wouldn't be asoiaf if we didn't decend down a Balerion/Cannibal red/green eyes greenseer black hole. I'm also interested with how Cannibal's existence sits with the wider thematic stream that is cannibalism in asoiaf. There's a lot of it out there apparently, especially in the later books, and it's largely associated with wildness/feralness (eg Skagos anyone? Interesting that that's where Rickon/Shaggydog went...) but also with being cursed/corrupted. Is Cannibal corrupted/cursed? Like you say, GRRM put this dragon in there for a reason, and I can't help but see him/her in the light of these more recent examples of cannibalism (Varymyr Six Skins, Bran eating Coldhands' "pork", Frey pies) and wonder what it's all supposed to tell us. Anyway, that's my half-formed ramblings that were kinda your doing, so do with them what you will. 😁
Something I love about GRRM - that he sets everything up in such a way that you can build a load of nice crunchy lore around a story entity who is essentially a 'dragon valve,' inserted into the story to plausibly restrict the Targs from becoming completely OPed, with hundreds of dragons, or have hundreds of wild dragons infesting Westeros.
I personaly like the idea that Cannibal could be a shadow lands dragon mainly because of vibes. It probably isn't true, but it's cool
Tbh I love vibes only headcanons. I love crackpot theories and tin foil hat shit.
I think he is a native of Westeros people often forget there were Dragons In Westeros before the Targaryens or valyrians arrived. Thousands of years ago during the Age Of Heroes we hear about Dragons in Westeros
@@rickyhunt4075And then we don't hear about dragons in Westeros again for thousands of years
@@araknas3981 We haven't heard of White Walkers for thousands of years either.
@@rickyhunt4075 Strawman. WW are in the Deep North well beyond where humans live, and they came from the North originally per the stories as well.
Dragons were said to be in many places in Westeros. Where do you suppose the Westerosi dragons went?
The seasmoke theory is heartwarming especially if you consider the implication of the cannibal being emotionally intelligent enough to let their child do as they please, and it does certainly seem like the dragons are far more intelligent then "beasts".
Hope he shows up in HOTD he is my favourite dragon. He represents both the greens and blacks and Cannibal represents the Targaryen civil war even though a side wins not going to spoil but in the end everyone loses as the dragons go near extinct they essentially cannabilise themselves. The green fire is usually wild fire which represents madness and cruelty and Cannibal having that fire makes me think Cannibal is the hatch of Maegor the cruel and he rejected it as he wanted the biggest strongest dragon and he wouldn’t settle for a hatchling and maybe that is part of Cannibal’s unwillingness to bond with a rider.
It seems so clear now. Really good insight!
The Dragon has three heads...each one tearing a chunk out of Westeros and consuming it in...fire and blood..
The real Jon Snow cooking with the flames of Azor Ahai 🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥
yeah i like that about the black and green factions cannibalizing themselves, makes sense. I don't think he has anything to do with maegor tho
@@DavidLightbringerI agree
the cannibal being a velaryon dragon is my favorite theory! when i read f&b the first time i found cannibal flying over corlys’ funeral curious and came to the same conclusion as you! so happy you’re covering it!!!
Can we talk about how my boy Balerion went through it all his life. Bro lost all his “wives “, friends, and riders all while being an old man😭
He also became an unwelcome metaphor he wouldn't have appreciated (yes, I also anthropomorphize dragons): that his last ride was with Viserys on his back. And it didn't denote power or strength or potential but the coming end of the dragons for two hundred years. Like that sucks. ;) LOL
@SuperStella1111
Wonder what made him want Viserys as a rider... then again, maybe the same reasons he wanted to bond with Aerea
@@thalmoragent9344Aerea was more like Aegon
Great video, just one clarification on „medieval incest“: canonical law prohibited incest. They were papal dispensations for marriages between first cousins, but no marriages between siblings took place. Also, the most intense interfamiliar marriages of the Spanish and Austrian lines of the Habsburgs - the first family which usually comes to mind when there is talk about „incestious“ marriages took place in the modern period (16. - 17. century), not the medieval period.
Solid
Part of that being from royal dynasties desperately try to keep as much power within themselves then let it foster in foreign lines to create disputes down the road, certainly as we start together absolute monarchy becoming a thing and backfiring still.
Absolutely inspired!! Since your tapestry video I've enjoyed the idea that Cannibal's lineage was long ago bonded to a rival Valyrian house that feuded and fought with Targaryens. She might just have primal hatred of everything Targ: their dragons, their eggs, their riders, their _hair_
If Seasmoke isn't descended from a Targ dragon lineage, couldn't we expect some instinctual antagonism to other Targ dragons? Maybe he takes his lead from Laenor. Or maybe the smoke of his name refers to Garth smoke and he's just super chill about stuff
I had a friend of mine talk about Luce, the new mascot for the Vatican, and I told them "Luce means light. Lucifer means light bringer." That one was for you, David.
hehehhe
I’m shook that the Vatican has a mascot cause isn’t it god 🫠
@@Maegorsteatsidols….you can’t worship false idols. I know lots of people online can’t help themselves from worshipping fictional characters. But many people can.
@@Maegorsteatsit’s totally fine, she’s a representative of the church, not an idol.
Only terminally online gooners would make an idol of the Vaticans Loli
@@MaegorsteatsGod isn’t a “mascot” you goober…
Cannibal is no match for the Pink Dread.
It's incredibly logical, given the theory that the different Valyrian households held control over different lineages of dragons, that Cannibal is from one of these other lineages. I especially like to consider the fact that black dragons are particularly regarded as dragons bred for war and conquest. Each family would then, in theory, have at least a couple of black dragons to bolster their house's sense of power and link to Valeryian culture. Could it be that the various dragon families have black dragons with distinctive flame colours to distinguish them? Remember the Great Empire of the Dawn, with their Pearl, Jade, Tourmaline, Onyx, Topaz, Opal, Amethyst and Bloodstone emperors.
im kinda saddened the by the idea of the cannibal seeing its family leave dragons stone and being left behind, because they couldn't hear its cries and was too young to fly with them
haha I got you to feel sorry for a giant mean dragon that eats baby dragons. success!!
@@DavidLightbringer that's how they become mean 😥
Truly one of the best Ice and Fire Channels on the web, keep posting bangers.
Jaw dropping theories! Cannibal coming from a different lineage makes so much sense. Considering the maesters knowing little to nothing about dragons, it's just like humans seeing sharks eating other fish - it looks like cannibalism but they're different species!
The more I listen to your theories, the more I am convinced by the dragon lineage / blood sacrifice thing. (I was really skeptical before.) It fits into how house Targaryen wasn't considered powerful in Valyria... If dragon-bonding required sacrificing an entire person, it's unlikely that powerful, established families would even attempt it.
I absolutely love the Seasmoke theory! It's unlikely that it would ever get confirmed or debunked, but it's believable world-building to me. The Cannibal-home-alone analogy is so funny... Imagine being left behind and becoming an absolute menace. It adds so much to the lore and makes dragons more creature than gods.
Neon industrial townhouse, love it.
To add to your ideas!
1) if there was a mini-war between the different dragons on Dragonstone, and then things got better (since more dragons came along, and not all of them born in Kingslanding) it might have to do with Targaryens marrying Velaryons. If Velaryons already had some blood from the Valerians who were there before, then they would be adding that blood to the Targaryen line. Perhaps that would allow them to tame some of the other possible dragons from before the conquest (or any other of the Cannibals offspring). That might explain why Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys were able to focus back on the conquest of Westeros: they now had the blood to tame ALL the dragons on Dragonstone. Maybe the Cannibal was just too old and nasty at that point to not remember to try to eat those foreign dragons. Like any grandparents can be when their kids marry folks they don't agree with.
2) similarly, the cannibal would not need to be a female to have sired eggs on other dragons! If Targaryens were able to tame the other non-Targ dragons, then they might be willing to breed with the Targaryen dragons. Then those mixed dragons could have eggs, or have eggs with the Cannibal
3) maybe the Cannibal flew over Corlys hoping for another snack then thought better of it, lol
Oh, and, love that the Cannibal is like Shaggydog when I thought it was curious that the other unclaimed dragon is Grey Ghost (like Jon's Ghost)!
25:28 it’s ok Dave we all feel old now 😂 much love Uncle Lightbringer
Rickon, Shaggy Dog and the Cannibal were always my favorite parts of ASOIAF when I first started reading the books and I was pissed that we knew so little about any of them, these last few streams have been a blessing and I’m glad they’re finally getting some attention! now if we could just get a character analysis stream about the Hound and the sister Gregor supposedly killed (which is never talked about) I’d be able to die happy.
Hound character stream is on the list actually!
I took want to talk more about the Clegane daughter.
Imo The Hounds relationship with Sansa makes more sense when you think about how the hound was once a kid who loved fariytales like bran and Sansa, and that he lost his sister.
I think part of his harsh protective but also not healthy behavior stems from knowing how easily those dreams turn to nightmares and wants to scare Sansa straight.
Cannibal: "Of course I burn people alive, you ain't cool unless you burn people alive!" Nanna Vhagar: "If burning people alive is cool, then I'm Myles Davis"
The similarities and links between Rickon and The Cannibal are curious to say the less. Rickon has a black dire wolf with bright green eyes, he's the most rogue of all starks and also is in skaagos, an island full of cannibals. Sounds like a parallelism to me
we talked about it on the Rickon livestream last week!
I think dragons can live a bit longer than two hundred years, but just kinda grounded at that point. Vhagar is closing in on two centuries and she's absolutely massive and needs time and a lot of room to turn in the air. At the end of Aemond's first flight, she didn't just land on the ground, she SLAMMED down. At Rook's Rest it looked like simply getting up was taxing and a chore by itself.
If he was never wounded, I think Balerion would've been the same. It was a wonder Viserys got him in the air at all. (The old injuries didn't exactly help)
Now it's possible that this is just how the Targaryens' dragons end up at that age, so big and heavy that they simply don't want to move around anymore and are dependant on humans bringing them food.
Other Valyrian families might've had dragons with either longer or shorter lifespans
Careful. HotD isn't hard lore. How they display the dragons has nothing to do with the books.
You're basing *all* of that on the TV show
Another great video thanks dave! Love cannibals symbolism and maybe he lives so long because he is eating other dragons and stealing there "fire"/life essence... need more details on cannibal and shaggy dog ❤
This theory have a lot of symbolism too. A Black and GREEN dragon, eating the youngs of other Black and RED dragons, from another lineage/house, can be a mirror to the dance itself, where the greens and the blacks are Dragons (targeryens) of different lineages killing eachother. The greens have a Black end Green Dragon sigil and the blacks have a Black and Red Dragon sigil. They are "cannibalizing" eachother, their youngs are suffering the most and the result is less dragons.
well said!!
My theory is that Cannibal eats dragons to prolong his lifespan.
Canniball bathes himself in the blood of others, like Sheera Seestar? Cannibal is Shiera confirmed.
How often does he need to eat? Has there been and is there really enough dragons going around to sustain him?
Giving in to incest and cannibalism are 2 of the things mentioned that led to the fall of the GEotD. Maybe it is a clue that the Targaryens were wrong in their presumption that incest and "blood purity" were the proper way. They should have been marrying outside the family and introducing other bloodlines into the mix, like the Starks adding in bloodlines of Red Kings, Marsh Kings, Barrow Kings, and the Warg King during their conquest of the North.
I don't remember any Starks marrying Boltons
What xD
That's a nice theory and all, but not really accurate, at all. Because the world of a song of ice and fire, incest (for Targaryens) doesn't work like in our world. In our world that would have led to massive mutations after each generation of inbreeding. In their world, it doesn't seem to cause any real issues until the dragons died.
What if Sheepstealer is also from one of the maisons' and builders' dragons' lineage, and Cannibal was trying to "save" him/her/them from Targaryen riders??
And Nettles is not actually a Targaryen bastard, but a bastard from the line of those earlier Targaryens?
you're right that this is possible
*Valyrians
Might explain why Sheepstealer and Grey Ghost survived living wild on the same island as the Cannibal
@@leann9261 yeah... and why no other (Targ) wild dragon survived...
Just caught up on your last month of videos, and then THIS pops up on a rainy day of driving? Incredible. The vibes are immaculate.
Thanks for including your speculation about Seasmoke - it's intriguing! I do hope somewhere down the line we get to learn more about Cannibal's origins and descendants 🤞
I loved this video a lot!
Regarding Addam's blood, indeed, it is established that Velaryons and Targaryens married several times and either through Valaena's mother or through any other female bloodline. Let's remember that before the conquest the allies of the dragons were the houses of Blackwater Bay, who tend to marry each other. If Daenys the Dreamer married her youngest daughter to one of those minor lords, that starts several generations of potential marriages with the dragon blood spreading to other families. The Velaryons not getting any of it is possible, of course, but unlikely
Seasmoke is my favorite dragon. Man, these are some of the most interesting questions I rarely ever hear being addressed though admittedly there isn’t ample evidence for anything beyond speculation but we see evidence in the main story of symbolic dragons outside the Targaryen line, particularly the blackfyres
I love the theory of the Cannibal having a connection with the smallfolk living on dragonstone before the Targaryens especially! We are all victims of the ceaseless march of time, but at least we were all alive to experience A Song of Ice and Fire and South Park 🫶 Thanks for another awesome video!
My 2 absolute favorites ever in the world of çbooks and TV! ASOIAF and Southpark
Love the contrast of the black and red Targ dragons and the potential black and green rival Valyrian house. Very reminiscent of the Dance factions symbolically!
Aenar had 5 dragons when he went to Draginstone. Now he has 1. What happened to the other 4?
Maybe, just maybe, Dragonstone wasn't empty when the Targaryens took it. Maybe they had a dance for it. Maybe that dance was multigenerational & that story was lost to time.
The Cannibal would be the last remnant of that war.
@jgr7487 I think this is a super interesting idea! GRRM seems to like hiding very obscure civil war type conflicts in the pasts of the main houses. I've always wondered how/why there is only 1 mentioned Stark family at the start of Roberts Rebellion, except the centuries removed Karstarks
@@dominic3797 There are also the Greystarks extinguished by the Starks though.
@@athiocordatus9572 I forgot that, good reminder. To me that is more evidence for some recent intra-Stark tussles, nothing ever happens in this story once 😂
@@dominic3797 ”Recent“ as in within the Starks of Winterfell? B/c the mermen took over the White Harbor after the Greystarks, and that was almost one thousand years before Aegon's Conquest. The fall of the Greystarks are only recent geologically speaking.
I think it was because the other Valyrian born dragons were all much older than Balarion when they moved to Dragonstone. The Cannibal is noted to usually avoid attacking adult dragons, so he probably wasn't responsible for their deaths. It's more likely the Targaryens simply struggled to keep their bigger dragons in good health without the resources and knowledge of Old Valyria.
Ayyyyyye what a nice surprise! Didn’t notice the video till I went to finally order a reading rhaegar shirt. Can’t tell u how excited I am to get it finally one. The rhaegar skits drew me in, and the parallels/symbolism/mythology kept me around lol. Good video, as always.
♥️♥️♥️
Cannibal is the reason the dragon keepers have an extra large pole option… probably
Another intriguing video and food for thought. Thank you, David. 🐉
Hey David, when you were talking about the food containing the power in 7:05, it reminded me of the difference between cannibalism and anthropophagy. Here in Brazil we study this in literature classes (since anthropophagy had its cultural comeback between the 19th and 20th century) and the main difference to cannibalism is its inherent religious/symbolic intents. Although its very dated (and ofc kinda rac1st), I'd recommend to you the poem "i-juca pirama" from Goncalves Dias (1851), for it has also some interesting symbols. Idk if george would dive into anthropophagy, but considering Varamyr's accounts and even the "jojen paste", i think its worth the shot. Also, great video as always, thanks so much for your content!
Beautiful video as always ❤
Great video! Also the little clip of you on your stair rail KILL ME❤❤ thanks for always giving me a good laugh during tough times
hahah thank you Alonna!! always nice to see you around online :)
I have always wondered about different types of dragons and you are the only one really covering it. Thanks man and praise Garth!!
I’ve been waiting for this video! Ever since I watched your previous dreams come from dragons and Targaryen tapestry videos cannibal has been living in my mind rent-free
I think House Valyrian was the dragonlord family that built Dragonstone. If you brought a workforce to build a castle I think Driftmark is a better place, where you can have sheep and stuff.
Or if there was another not named dragonlord family maybe some gens into the Valaryons either by marriage or outside of it.
could be, but the reason I think it's unlikely is that if House Velaryon had built dragonstone and lived on dragonstone, that would be mentioned. they would be bringing it up constantly in fact
Awesome video Dave! ❤️ Cannibal always felt like a piece of the ancient history of ASOIAF Earth puzzle to me. His green and black coloration makes me think of Asshai By The Shadow with its black city/lands and toxic green water, as well as the life sapping phenomenon there being like the land cannibalizing the animals. Not to mention that Asshai has a dragon origin story.
Nice! Fresh new theory from Uncle Lightbringer!
Dave! Looking clean, like the new office! Love that the background fits the Cannibal's aesthetic.
This is too good today, got my Garth really Garthing. Thanks Dave!
Getting this in my watch history for later. Good idea doing some HOTD/FAB lore this time around, especially a fearsome dragon. Perhaps even the most so. Besides Balerion the Dread and Vhagar the Old Nan of course. But being 3rd isn't bad sometimes
Love the new pad!
This got me thinking that Dragonstone’s magnificent and strange fortifications would work as marketing as well as defence. A westerosi lord seeing it will have confidence the Valyrian sword being made for him will be similarly magical and mighty. It fits the sword brand.
hahaha great point!
i'm here dancing in my seat with this new intro every time!
Question:
Why would the pre-conquest Targaryens leave the Cannibal to survive for nearly more than 100 years? Aenar arrived on Dragonstone with 5 dragons, he could have had his kin gang up on him and killed The Cannibal. The dragon threatened their own dragon lineage. Why didn't they do so?
I think it's more likely that Cannibal hatched with the same clutch as Dreamfyre, at around 32 AC, and only began devouring other dragons in late 50's or early 60's AC. By this time, Jaehaerys had already completed the Dragonpit, and he could breed dragons comfortably there.
This is also supported by the fact that Vermithor is confirmed in the lore to be the largest dragon in the world after Balerion and Vhagar. If Cannibal had lived for more than 200 years, he would be as large if not larger than Balerion
in name alone, this dragon is low key the coolest. Such mystique! another great video lightbringer 🤙🏽
At the end of the Rickon live stream you asked us to click the notification and watch your vids in the first few hours after they are posted...The North Remembers....
"I am a very North Remembereing UA-cam creator. You think I don't notice the views in the first few hours?"
this is the AI-generated response YT recommended I give you and I thought it was really funny 😂 but yes thank you very much!!
David I clicked the bell but UA-cam did NOT notify me about this drop 😤 never clicked so fast in my life I GASPED when I saw this
Isn't it possible that the reason so few dragons were born after Aenar and co came to Westeros is because the Doom was an example of magic weakening in the world of ice and fire, at least for a time, and thus may have affected the dragons as a result?
maybe? But if the dragons do better on Dragonstone, why only two born over 112 years, and then the very next hundred years, 20?
Thanks!
thank you!
The Cannibal is my favorite dragon of all ASOIAF series. Really hope to see him at some point in the show, although I doubt it
How many dragons does it take to screw in a lighbulb? NONE! Dragons are not afraid of the dark...
Leave the room in the dark, you don't want to wake the dragon, do you?
The Cannibal is my “I can fix her!” in dragon form
ETA: the idea of young Corlys claiming the cannibal is a fun one because then we have Rhaenys Targaryen with Meleys marrying Corlys Velaryon on the Cannibal. Whoop, guess she becomes Queen 😂
Love you Dave! Love your tenacity, and your ability to consistently give us new things to think about and consume in the long wait for the next book.
Thanks man!
Hope we get to see cannibal in the show one day!
The knowledge that goes into these videos is unmatched 💯
Not to mention the jokes that come with it 😅
I think Addam was able to claim seasmoke because of the dragons bond with Laenor. Seasmoke (I think) essentially said hey thats Laenor because Addam is his half brother and takes after him. So I believe Seasmoke was just finding the closest to his previous rider because of his disappearance.
Tbh I think Rhaenys and Laenor did some accidental Valyrian magical hokus pokus and turned Seasmoke into House Velaryon's personal dragon
@ that’s very interesting to think about! Could you elaborate if possible?
@jman5432 (I'm sorry, this comment is way too long) I talked with someone else under David's video about Seasmoke and Laenor. David has already done videos talking about Valyrian blood magic and has theorized how they first tamed the dragons. If I remember correctly he brought up that different families might have had their own family of dragons and that one family will only be able to bond with their previous dragons' descendants.
Meaning, a Targaryen would only be able to bond with a Targaryen dragon and not one from another family. I think this was a huge reason why they all practised incest to "keep the blood pure" because once you give someone else access to your nuke on wings it will eventually lead to conflict.
While Rhaenys is a Targaryen, she's not actually 50% Targaryen just because her father was Prince Aemon. Technically, she has more Velaryon blood than anything.
Rhaenys' mother was Jocelyn Baratheon, the daughter of Alyssa Velaryon. Her father Aemon was the son of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and their mother was also Alyssa. (Yes, Aemon and Jocelyn were aunt and nephew). This makes her, by blood, half Velaryon, a quarter Targaryen and a quarter Baratheon (but she's only a Targaryen by name).
Personally, I don't think Rhaenys brought any dragon keepers to Driftmark where Seasmoke has spent most of his life. She probably taught Laenor the dragon commands herself and made sure he properly bonded with Seasmoke.
The Velaryons were not dragonriders but have married Targaryens plenty of times. At this point they're just one big family with two different names. It's not impossible that letting Seasmoke bond with Laenor led to some accidental blood magic that made the Velaryons unofficial dragonlords with their very own dragon, Seasmoke.
Yeah, I make jokes about Seasmoke seeing Addam and going, "YOU SMELL LIKE LAENOR. I'M KEEPING YOU" like everyone else, but I honestly think only a Velaryon could've bonded with him
This is my first time seeing you and this channel, and I must say, you're really good at structuring your script. You also have very good diction, which I appreciate as a non-native English speaker. I'll definitely return to this channel
oh thanks very much I appreciate that! I very intentionally script in a conversational style with a mind towards presentation, as opposed to just writing an essay and then performing it. The goal is that it comes across naturally, but with precise wording :)
@DavidLightbringer And I'd say you're succeeding👍
Maybe there was a resurgence of Targaryen dragons because the Dragonpit was build and finished around 50 AC. All the eggs and hatchlings would have been nice and protected from Cannibal there - until the Targaryen dragons became numerous enough to protect their clutches on Dragonstone from Cannibal (Balerion may have been an absentee father 😅).
Also, this would make the Dragonpit a tragic double-edged sword: Helping dragons survive and thrive in the short run, but also helping make them go extinct in the long run.
Makes a lot of sense and honestly, I never really thought about it until you pointed it out that he started out with five dragons and somehow by the time of the conquest, there's only been two born with one remaining like that, doesn't math.
I do think though it's more likely that there wasn't just one cannibal, but probably several young dragons together, and all grew up in overtime cannibals, the only one left if they all looked alike, which i'm we see some dragons who look similar people may have.Mistaken them for the gathers, specifically, if they were only targeting the dragons.
Daemon indirectly mentioned the Cannibal in episode 10 of season 1 of House of the Dragon when referring to the "three wild dragons". (Even though Sheepstealer's location in the show was changed to the Vale.)
YES he mentions the 3 wild dragon's but not by name
The new house looks amazing, I hope everything worked out well.
I like the theory of Cannibal being from another line of dragons and SeaSmoke being one of her offspring. Because it brings to mind the cuckoo bird and brood parasitism, where a cuckoo will lay one of it's eggs in another bird's nest, letting the other birds raise the young cuckoo (which often outcompetes the other baby birds for food and has the best shot of surviving). If dragons are more intelligent than given credit for, and with the Cannibal possibly being the last of her line...by getting one of her own eggs into a clutch of Targaryen dragon eggs it could boost the survival chances of her young, because if anyone knows the fragility and weakness of baby dragons, it would be the Cannibal.
Of course, the question that hasn't been addressed (as far as I know) is who exactly were the pre-Targaryen Valerians on Dragonstone? Was Dragonstone an unpopular "provincial" backwater, and Aenor made them a deal to swap places, or was there conflict between the two houses, and if so, why isn't it recorded in Fire and Blood?
I suspect the reason why GRRM put The Cannibal into the story is to prevent the Targaryens from being too overpowered. He needed Aegon's invasion force to be a winner, but not so much that there was no conflict. Then he probably did the maths and realised that he needed some "throttling" factor on dragon breeding in order to end up with a low enough number of dragons by the start of The Dance that it could credibly wipe them all out.
love the video, glad cannibal got his own video
The famous Chewbacca defense!
fantastic work! 👏👏 🌳 ☄️ ❄️
This goes into the pantheon of firewights, ice spiders, and Vedic Dany
I Literally think about the ice Spiders vid at least once a week and idk how many times ive rewatched it, the other vids are also so so incredible! Vedic Dany is esp close to my heart❤
What if the Cannibal was specifically bred to eat dragons? Like a type of Dragon Culler, to eat the dragons it's long gone masters deemed too weak or not what they wanted. Even young dragons are particularly fearsome. The last order Cannibal could have gotten was "Cull the Targaryen house". That would kinda help with the lack of Dragons during the 100 years of only 2 dragons, until they found a way to push away Cannibal from the main roost area and out toward the Smallfolk lands.
Great show!
Cannibal sounds like a wild undomesticated dragon to me.
The reason he looks/acts so different is from not being selectively bred for generations.
Like comparing a wolf to a dog
Love the Dragon lore & theory. Thanks for the fun speculation and theory crafting.
Seriously, David, your art after HoTD season 2 ended has been fantastic. I'm very impressed how you can pivot to covering the show and then pivot back to great storytelling like this. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire will seriously never stop giving. Godspeed mate! PRAISE GARTH!! 🌲
Loved this video! Reckon you’d ever do a video going into the symbolic analysis of every dragon from ASOIAF? The one you did were you broke down all the symbolism in the dragon fights from F&B was 🔥
Love your content as always! I hope to become a squisher next month :) I think GRRM also mentioned that he based the direct familial marriages on ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and other ancient fertile crescent cultures. These cultures also widely practiced polygamy. It would be interesting to think about Valyrian family structures and marriage customs. Perhaps a Valyrian lord or emperor would have a sister as Chief Wife and then various other lesser wives for political reasons, like the Egyptian pharaohs.
Since Valyria is also modeled after ancient Rome and Greece, it would be interesting to consider that they might've granted divorces like the Romans and Greeks did (& also the ancient Eqyptians + Assyrians. Hammurabi's Code even has divorce laws and proceedings in it.) I would watch the hell out of an ancient Valyrian Divorce Court TV show, it would be better than that Blood Moon disaster. Dragon custody battles would be vicious.
Rickon Stark being a greenseer and/or skinchanger with Shaggydog and ending up riding the Cannibal in a Nettlesesque situation would be kind of insane & ik it's likely not gonna happen but it's a cool scenario, especially with the black scales/fur and green eyes and Rickon himself being batshit insane (and traumatized) from a very young age and he's now on Skagos the supposed island of the old gods, cannibalism and unicorns with Osha and the theory where the Cannibal lives on Skagos after running out of food supply after the dance of the dragons, especially during the second dance of the dragons and like last time not choosing either Aegon VI or Daenerys I like he/she didn't choose Aegon II or Rhaenyra I is a really cool concept I ride w/. And not to mention there's always the possibility that the Cannibal is the last Westerosi dragon without any Valyrian ties.
The author doesn't owe us anything, but my dad passed away from cancer this August and he and I really loved this series. We waited patiently and he would joke that his watch would end after he had read TWOW. Rest in peace daddy, I'm sorry I got you invested into ASOIAF without return.
I don't know why I keep coming back.
that sucks I'm sorry your dad didn't get the ending. RIP, the watch will never again see his like
Dope new Pad, gotta unpack all the decor to match the old vibe
Odd theory here. Some dinosaurs, such as the T-Rex, developed a sort of venomous bite that was caused by bacteria from rotting meat on their teeth. The bacteria would transmit to the bite victim, and if they lived long enough, would get infected.
I wonder if the Cannibals green flame can be caused by this, with some sort of magical twist. Rotting dragon meat changes the colour/potency of fire?
Pure speculation with nothing to back this, but the semi-dormant dinosaur nerd in me thought of it and I needed to share it
For all intents and purposes the septic bite theory is old and not at all plausible with our current understanding of dinosaurs
I love the artwork that has Cannibal looking like a fookin' Xenomorph Queen, it's BADASS!
What I find interesting is that the Cannibal could be used as a device to explain to readers what happens during Dance of the Dragons.
Cannibal could represent the Greens with its green-tinged flames and eyes. What does it seem to like to do? Eat/Kill (Targaryen/Blacks) dragons and their eggs.
I don't think we get what happens to Cannibal exactly, but it seems to fly off after most of the Targaryen dragons are wiped out. Kind of like "My job here is done." And yes, for the most part the Greens (House Hightower specifically) survive and don't fade into memory I still think its an apt parallel between the dragons and the fight between the Greens and Blacks.
Loved this one!!
I think that you missed one little thing about the dragon population not growing i those 100 years. Its like turtles and other "old age" animals.. the older the can get, the later they mature and can breed. There are turtle that live up to be 400 years but they have to survive the first 40 years before the can give birth. And therfore its possible that those 5 dragons that came to dragonstone were a long way from maturaty and breeding age.
I like these standalone videos even better than the livestreams. Just the theories and knowledge without interfering chat comments.
LETSS GO! I’ve been saving a nice cannibal meal to watch this cannibal video
😶😶😶
I am still clawing on to the theory that the Cannibal is still alive on Skagos and Rickon will come back to rescue Winterfell on its back, being the first person ever to both be a warg and dragonrider. Chance of happening?
In Elden Ring, you can consume a dragon's heart to gain more draconic incantations. I wonder if the Valyrians did this as well. Also, I do agree that canibal is from an offshoot lineage.
I want a house cannibal T-shirt but with one head
Loved the video & does the Cannibal's behaviour mean that whomever's soul was fused with the Cannibal is someone who is against the Targaryens? This person knew of the terrible plot by the Targaryens & fused with his dragon to get away early?
Congrats on the new house 👏
Your channel is the only good thing about not having TWOW yet. At least we get to have fun speculating.
Congrats on the new crip, and cool Cannibal
Keep up the good commissions, commander
: )
I like the warehouse style background! I have watched a lot of your wonderful content and the change up is a nice touch 🎉🎉
I love the idea that the cannibal is a few eating the other dragons to make room for her young. It really explains a lot
It could be totally off? but at least it makes sense as a theory
Targaryens: dragonrider house
Velaryons: often marry Targaryens, became dragonrider house during the dance
Celtigars: 🗿🗿🗿
very good and interesting video, as always. thank you!
I'm a bit late but congrats on your new place! Hope this new chapter is full of peace for you
Excellent video as always. I'm fascinated by the colours of Cannibal and the related associations with wildness/feralness/uncontrollability: Shaggydog is obviously similarly wild and dangerous, as is wildfire, which Cannibal's own fire resembles so much. And of course it wouldn't be asoiaf if we didn't decend down a Balerion/Cannibal red/green eyes greenseer black hole.
I'm also interested with how Cannibal's existence sits with the wider thematic stream that is cannibalism in asoiaf. There's a lot of it out there apparently, especially in the later books, and it's largely associated with wildness/feralness (eg Skagos anyone? Interesting that that's where Rickon/Shaggydog went...) but also with being cursed/corrupted. Is Cannibal corrupted/cursed? Like you say, GRRM put this dragon in there for a reason, and I can't help but see him/her in the light of these more recent examples of cannibalism (Varymyr Six Skins, Bran eating Coldhands' "pork", Frey pies) and wonder what it's all supposed to tell us.
Anyway, that's my half-formed ramblings that were kinda your doing, so do with them what you will. 😁
we got into some of that came out of stuff in the Rickon stream actually if you're interested!
@@DavidLightbringer I should have realised you'd be ten steps ahead! 😅 I'll check that out this weekend - thanks!